Hooked
by Joy Downer
Summary: Life. It's a journey, with twist and turns, peaks and valley, mountains to climb and oceans to explore. You've got good times and bad times, happy times and sad times. But whatever you do, you always move forward. What nobody tells you though, are all the 'little things' that come along when you grow up. But hey, I guess I'm about to learn all this together with my friends. OOC/Cs
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don not own Percy** **Jackson (no matter how many falling stars I see) Rick Riordan does**

Hey, my name's Percy Jackson and I'm 16 years old, I have ADHD and dyslexia, I live in San-Francisco and hmm... what else? Oh yeah! I'm still a virgin. It's not like it's by choice or anything, no matter what anyone tells you. It's just that apparently girls don't really like guys who wear sweater vests and read books almost constantly. Who knew? It's not like I like wearing sweater vests, it's just I don't know what else to wear and my mom thinks I'm handsome. But that doesn't matter anymore because as of today I will be moving to New York. My dad, Poseidon, got a great job opportunity there that he just couldn't refuse, no matter how much I begged him not to take it.

Here's a little background on my dad: He's pretty much and older version of me. Seriously, we have the same eyes, same hair color, same messy hair (although mine's shorter than his) and even the same crooked grin. He was a marine biologist, but is now officially gonna be a professor at NYU. I guess that's enough for now. Back to the story:

So here I am, packing up my stuff and memories, leaving in an hour. I already said my goodbyes to my friends, with the promise of coming back next summer, and goodbye to Percy Jackson the guy who can't get some. Because I've decided that everything will change when I get to New York. I'm not gonna be a huge dork who likes reading anymore. This time I'll be an interesting dork who likes reading. But how to be more interesting? That'll be my goal when I get to New York.

-Line Break-

Well, here we are in New York. We don't have a house with a garden anymore but instead this apartment in Brooklyn. My room is a lot bigger here, and already blue! Score! I should probably prepare for tomorrow, my first day at Goode high school. So I decided to do some light pre-class reading, you know to be prepared for class. But right when I opened my textbook, the doorbell rang.

When I opened the door, standing in front of me was a goth kid. That's the best way I could describe him, really. He just kept staring at me so I said "Um..Hi? Can I help you?" and he replied

"Please don't tell me you were about to read that textbook on the last day of the vacation."

"Umm, what? Why? Who are you?" I asked, confused.

"I'm your Lord, your Savior, but most importantly, your cousin. Nico Di Angelo's the name, and getting you as far away from that physics handbook in your hand is the game. Seriously dude, get rid of that thing. Shred it, burn it either way just destroy it. Perce, I'm gonna show you how to live, starting with a make-over. You look really lame with that bowl-cut, sweater vest and loafers."

I just stared dumbly at him, because seriously this is not happening right now.

He rolled his eyes and said "Come on man. Work with me here.'"

"Why?" I asked him. "Why would you help me. You don't even know me."

He answered with "Bro, I know one thing. We're family. That's enough for me. I want to help you, okay? Just looking at you, I can tell you're a virgin. And no cousin of mine is gonna die one."

"Wait die? I'm gonna die?" I said.

He rolled his eyes and said "No, that's just a figure of speech. Just come on, we're losing daylight over here. We've still got a lot of work to do if you wanna go to school tomorrow, looking like someone that girls might actually want to talk to, no offense."

"None taken" I said cause, let's face it, he's got a point there.

So that's how I spent my first day in New York, with my cousin shopping for clothes (I've got a lot more money, thank you dad!), getting a hair cut and somewhat learning how to talk to girls.

"What you wanna do is be confident, okay? Girls dig it. And for the love of God, do not talk about emperor penguins!" he said exasperated.

"What!? But they're so awesome. Did you know that before having intercourse they-"

"Yeah yeah. I know, they bow to each other. You already told me that. Twice. Look Percy if there's an awkward silence, you don't always have to fill it. Especially with penguin facts." he interrupted.

So I asked him "...What about dolphin facts?"

"No. No sea related facts okay? Actually, no random facts. Period. If there's an awkward silence, either let her fill it, or ask her a question. But not a yes or no one, cause that'll just lead to another awkward silence. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah got it." I told him. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay Perce, see you tomorrow. I'll pick you up around 8, aight?"

-Line Break-

"PERCY WAKE UP IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL" my mother bellowed.

I groan, but got up, and did my morning routine. For once taming my hair was be easy, thanks to my new haircut. I don't really know how to describe it, it's short at the sides and kinda long in the middle. I combed my hair, put a little gel to keep it up and got dressed. Nico told me how to dress, so now instead of some dress shirt with a sweater vest I just put on a black v-neck with a black and red flannel over it, some black jeans and my black vans. If my old friends saw me now, they wouldn't recognize me, I barely recognized myself.

I went downstairs and to get some of my moms blue waffles, to go. Now here's a fun fact about them: They are awesome. I mean, it's like eating happiness, blue happiness. The best kind if you ask me.

Any way when I went to say goodbye to my mom she just stared at me and said "My, Percy you look nice today. Did you get a haircut?"

"Suure did mom. Nico took me. In fact here he is to pick me, see you later mom."

"Bye Percy have a nice day!"

When I got to school, Nico showed me to the principal's office where I got my schedule and locker number. I put my stuff in and was about to go to the assembly when I saw... Her. This girl is like no one I've ever seen. She has electric blue eyes, spiky black hair and a glare that made me shiver. She wore a Green Day t-shirt with a leather jacket over it, some ripped black jeans and combat boots. All I could think was 'Holy crap. Those legs just go on for miles.' and I was hooked. All my life it feels like I've been living it half-alive. Not dead, but not really living either. But in that moment, I lived. I could feel everything. From the way my t-shirt touched my skin, to the faint smell of hope (and farts. ew.) in the air, to what her gaze did to me, I felt it all. And I was hooked. My life changed, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've tasted life, and there's no going back. I heard some one call me, so I looked away, but when I looked back she was gone.

 **Hey my name's Joy (well not really, but it's the internet ya feel?) and this is my first story. Thank you, if you've made it this far. Hope you enjoyed it even a little, and please tell me how I can improve your experience. I know that Percy's a little (ok a lot ) OOC here, but it's important to the story, trust me I'm the writer. I plan on updating at least twice a week, depending on life you know. Anyway I hope you enjoyed, and will come back for more. Oh, and I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read. Ciao for now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson (no matter how many pennies I waste on fountains) Rick Riordan does**

So I went to the assembly with Nico, and once I was there I scanned the room looking for the blue eyed goddess. I was so focused on finding her, that I didn't hear a single word the principal said nor did I notice Nico leaning closer. "Who ya looking for cuz?" he said, startling me.

"Oh... Um no one in particular. Just looking around, checking out my new classmates and stuff."

He looked at me skeptically "Bullshit. Just tell me who she is, and before you start denying it, I know it's a girl. It's always about a girl. Unless... You wanna tell me something along the lines of I'm...?" he said with a shit-eating grin.

I relented "Fine, gods you're annoying. It's this punk chick, with electric blue eyes, spiky black hair and-"

"Is she wearing a band t-shirt, leather jacket, ripped jeans and combat boots?"

"Umm, yeah exactly that! How'd you know?" I asked.

"Two reasons" he replied. "One cause I'm looking right at her and two, because I know her... Well sort of."

"Tell me every thing you know" I said.

"She's bad news Perce, you should just stay away from her. Her name's Thalia Grace, she's in our grade and is seen only hanging out with her people, Annabeth Chase, Frank Zhang and Piper Mclean. You're not the first guy to want her, and definitely not the last. Just stay away, alright Perce?" But I didn't. All I heard was Her name's Thalia Grace. So, my goddess has a name now. Wow, sounded kind of creepy. I stared at her during the assembly and then, I stared some more... Still sounded really creepy.

Until she caught me staring. 'Oh shit. She's coming over here. She's coming over here!' was the only thought running through my mind.

"Nico what do I do? She's coming over here!"

"Dude relax. She's probably just leaving. The assembly's done, not that you'd know seeing as how you've been staring at her the whole time, and you're kinda in front of the exit. Don't panic."

"You're right. You're right. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to-" and then she grabbed the hood of my flannel while she was exiting and dragged me to a secluded area and said

"Alright pretty boy, why you been staring at me the whole time? Huh? Who sent you?".

I was practically shitting my pants over here, you think her glare's scary from far? You should try seeing it up close. And more importantly did she just call me pretty? "Er..Um... Gah" was all I could say, until I realized that I'm kinda sorta way taller than her. Huh. Cool.

She must've gotten pissed at my blank expression cause she brought my face closer to hers and said "Well, you just gonna stare at me like some dumb-ass or what? I don't like people staring at me, so you're gonna stop that or else I'll have to make sure you can't anymore.. Got it?"

"Er, um crystal clear. It's just.. That.. Well.. My name's Percy Jackson, I'm Nico's cousin? I'm new here, and uhh I was wondering if you wanted to maybe sorta kinda.. Be my friend? I mean show me around." I asked, looking mortified wit the fact that I couldn't make a single proper sentence around then there was an awkward silence, so I said the first thing that came up to me "Sooo... Emperor penguins? Am I right? Did you know that they would bow to each other before having intercourse? Silly penguins." And she looked at me like I was some mentally deranged person. I don't blame her, I mean, you saw what happened. I totally messed everything up. "I'll just, uh, I'll just take my leave. Sorry for wasting your time." I said while starting to leave.

"Wait," she said, "what class do you have next?"

"Er, Um, English." I said.

"I guess I'll see you there" she said while giving me a smile and walking away.

"Does that mean we're friends?" I asked her hopefully.

She looked over her shoulders and said "Maybe. Guess we'll have to see now, won't we? My name's Thalia Grace by the way. Thanks for asking"

I probably would have stayed there the whole day thinking about that dazzling smile she gave me, if it wasn't for Nico dragging me to English.

English was pure torture. I swear, Thalia (I love using her name) purposely let her pen fall just so that she could bend over and pick it up. And the way she bit her pen, gods it was pure torture watching that but I was hooked. I could not, would not look away. Whenever I decided to actually pay attention to the class, I'd suddenly see her biting her lips, or giving me a seductive smile or winking at me. Gods, she's gonna be the death of me! It's only the first period, and already I'm in a desperate need of a cold shower.

-Line break-

The rest of the day crawled by, and by the end of it I was very much in need of a cold shower, no wait, scratch that, a freezing shower! Thalia Grace was in Every. Single. One. Of my classes! And boy, she didn't let me forget it. I'm just glad that it was half day today, cause I did not pay attention. I have absolutely no idea what we did the whole (half) day. Besides being teased mercilessly by Thalia, I also met Nico's friends Leo Valdez (an awesome little elf), Jason Grace (Thalia's step-brother; Score!), Hazel Levesque (the most innocent person I've ever met) and Grover Underwoood (I suspect that he is half goat; more research needed). I didn't really get to know them at school, cause I was **ahem** preoccupied in class (you know... Paying attention and stuff) so we decided to hang out after school.

"Yo Jason, Percy here has got the hots for your sister."

"Nico! Dude! Why would you tell him that?!" I said mortified.

"What? It's easier that he knows now, instead of catching you guys making out in the closet or something." he answered back nonchalantly.

At this point Leo was laughing his ass of, Hazel was fanning her face and Grover, well he was just smiling knowingly.

"Percy man, it's ok. You're not the first to fall for her and definitely not the last" Jason said. "You've gotta be careful though. Thalia's not really the 'love' kinda person."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"As in Thalia Grace does not fall in love, nor does she believe in it. Ever since that bastard Luke, she's given up on the idea of love." Jason deadpanned.

"Well... Maybe I can change that? Wait, who's Luke?" I asked.

Everyone at the table suddenly looked uncomfortable, until Nico said "Percy... That's a really touchy subject. Now's not the time, okay bro?"

"Yeah, sure, okay, got it. Hey Jason, what tip could you give me too woo your sister?" I asked Jason.

Before Jason could answer Leo said "Easy hermano. Just use my pick-up lines and she will be putty in your arms. Here's an example: _Your lips look so lonely… Would they like to meet mine?_ There's plenty more where that came from! They have a 100% success rate, guaranteed to get the ladies! I'd know, I use them all the time." while wiggling his eye-brows.

"So.. How come you're still packing that virgin card then?" Hazel asked.

And every one had to laugh at Leo's stuttering! By the end of the day, we were all great friends. I even showed Leo some of my pick up lines- Long story short: We're now officially each others wingmen.

After that I approached Jason and asked him "So.. Do you have any tips on how to win your sister over?"

"Honestly Perce, the biggest tip that I could ever give you is this: Don't get hooked on her. And no, that's not because I don't want my sister to date or anything, but it's because you seem like a nice guy and I know her. She eats up guys like you and ruin them. I've seen it happen, and I don't want it to happen to you. Whatever you do, I repeat: Do. Not. Get. Hooked: Alright?"

Too late.

 **Aand that's a wrap! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it's marginally longer than the last one. If you have any suggestions for this story, I'm all case you haven't figured it out, the characters will be OOC in this story.**

 **Oh, and to my first reviewer (EVER): thanks for the review! The pairing here is kind of hard to say. I've got big plans for Percy soo.. Can't really say for sure without giving you MAJOR spoilers. Sorry. I know Percy's OOC here, but I'm gonna try to get him back in character during the story.**

 **Oh, and I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read. Ciao for now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

FRIDAY

The rest of the week, and today in fact, was pretty much like the first day. Every time I wanted to talk to her, I'd either chicken out, or well... Chicken out. It's not that I don't know how to talk to girls, it's just that I've never been really good at talking to people. I always assume that they don't want to talk to me, or that I'm boring them, or I'm in the way of something, or etc. The list goes on and on. Either way, nothing really interesting happened except for maybe this one thing in 5th period History on Thursday.

-Line Break-

THURSDAY

I was actually paying attention in class for once (Thalia had Physics, for which I was both sad and thankful for). We were studying Ancient Greece, interesting stuff, when the teacher announced that we were gonna have to pair up on a group project about the Gods. It was an important one, cause this project counted for 30% of our grade! We had 6 months to work on it, so we had to choose our partner wisely. After that every one started to pair up, well... except for me. None of my friends were in this class so obviously I was freaking out just a teensy bit. But then something weird and yet amazing happened. Annabeth Chase, Thalia Graces BEST FRIEND (I cannot stress this enough!), came up to me.

Here's a little background on Annabeth Chase: She has blond princess curls and the only thing more intimidating about her than her stormy grey eyes was her dresses and acts pretty similarly as Thalia Grace, but seemed more reserved. Where Thalia was this hard to miss presence, she was a more subtle one. Thalia was more 'in-your-face'than Annabeth. You'd have to keep your eye out for her, but once you see her, she's hard to miss. She has a competitive streak and a pride bigger than all of the oceans combined. You'd see her with a scowl more often than not. In fact, I haven't seen her smile once, since I came here. That seems like enough background for now, back to the story then:

She came up to me and said "Hey you're that emperor penguin guy, right?"

I blushed and answered "Er... Um, yeah. That's me. I suppose Thalia told you that?"

She laughed, she's actually really pretty when she laughs, and said "Of course! Thalia gets hit on, like a lot, but that was the first time in a long time a guy managed to have leaved her speechless. Frankly when she told me that, I laughed my ass off, yes, but I also thought that it was kinda sweet. In a dorky and lame way of course."

I did not know what to do. After that there was an awkward silence, and I felt a random ocean fact coming up, but before I could embarrass myself she said

"So... You're probably wondering why I came up to you."

"Er, um, well kind of? Unless it's a habit for you to bring up my mortifying moments?" I said.

"Be careful there Percy... It might become one" she said with a wink. Wait... Is she... Flirting? With me? Nah, probably misreading the situation It couldn't be!

"Anyway I just came up to you to ask if you wanted to be my partner?" she asked me. Is she asking me to be her boyfriend?! I mean I guess she's really pretty and smart and now that I think about it, maybe it could work out if- Wait what am I thinking?! I have to let her down gently. I like Thalia. Right?

I must've looked confused and zoned out, cause she waved her hands in front of my face and said "Umm, Percy are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure. I was just, uh, in another place. What did I miss?" I said.

"Nothing much, I was jus asking you if you'd like to be my partner? For the project? About the Gods?"

"Ohh, that's what you meant! Yeah, sure I'd love to!" I answered.

"What else could I have meant?" she asked me confused.

I blushed and said "Nothing else." I had to change the subject. Fast! OH, I know! "Umm.. Hey did you know that oysters can change from one gender to another and back again, depending on which is best for mating? Pretty cool, huh?" I said.

"Uhh, yeah. I guess so." she said while looking at me weirdly. "When can you work on this project with me?" she asked.

"Oh, doesn't really matter. How about Friday?"I responded.

"No can do."

"Okay, Saturday?"

"Not sure" she said uncertainly.

"So, Sunday then?" I was starting to get a little irritated at this point.

"Definitely not. You know what, Saturday will do. Hope you don't mind that Thalia might be there, we kinda have plans. But don't worry, it's in the afternoon." she answered hurriedly.

Suddenly, my mind tarted to wander. Thalia will be there? Maybe she'll wear a short dress that'll show off her magnificent legs, that are just attached to juiciest- Bad Percy! Focus! You have an important school project! 'Oh, shit, answer her idiot! But! Be cool.'

"Oh? I guess I don't mind, much. Thalia's the one with green eyes right? Oh, wait that was Amanda! Could you refresh my memory, cause I'm drawing a blank here." I said nonchalantly as I had not a care in the world. 'Damn, I'm totally pulling this playing it cool off! Self mind five!' I thought.

"Um, Thalia's my best friend. Awesome punk rock chick with blue eyes? The girl you sprouted emperor penguin facts with? That ring a bell?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I might recall her. Guess I'll have to see Saturday. Or not. Whatever." And after that I stood up to leave cause right at that moment the bell rang. And let me tell you, I kinda felt bad ass.

-Line Break-

FRIDAY

And here we are now. I just finished school and was on my way home, when a black truck, Nico's, stopped right beside me blasting Victorious by Panic! At the Disco. Nico rolled down his window and said five little words that changed everything. "We're going to a party!"

 **And that's a wrap! Sorry this chapter took so long, holidays ya know? It doesn't help that I've written and rewritten this chapter at least a dozen times, or so. Anywho, once again thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed. And if not, please tell me why and what I can do better next time. That's all for now, so... Merry Christmas guys and a Happy New Year!**

 **Oh, and I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read. Ciao for now.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

"What?"

"I said we're going to a party. You know, with beer, music aaaand (most importantly) girls!" Nico said. "So hop on and lemme give you a ride home to collect your stuff."

"Okay, wait. What stuff?" I asked while entering his car.

"You know, clothes and shit. You don't seriously think you can sneak back into your house afterwards. Sorry cuz, but you've got no experience whatsoever in sneaking into a house, let alone doing it while you're drunk" Nico answered.

"Oh. That just raises more questions than it answers, honestly. Hey, how do you know that I couldn't do that! Maybe I sneak into the house all the time!" I said, feeling a little bit indignant.

Nico just gave me this deadpan look and said "Dude."

"Alright, alright. Fine. You got me. Let's just go. I'll tell my mom that I'm staying over at your place."

"Hey mom" I said. "How's it going?"

"Hm? Oh, hello there Percy. Pretty busy at the office, as usual. We've got this big case coming up, so I probably won't be around much this weekend. I hope you don't mind."

I should give you a little background on my mom: She's got blue eyes that sparkle and change color in the light a smile as warm as quilt and long brown hair, with a few streaks of grey in it, but I never think of her as old. Although the grey streaks have been accumulating because of her job as an environmental lawyer. She had me when she was 18, which motivated her to make the world a better place for me. Really sweet actually, too bad that means that she has to spend less and less time with me, and more time in the court arguing, but what are you gonna do? Back to the story:

"Not a problem mom. I was planning on staying over at Nico's anyway." I answered. I went to my room and got my outfit for the party and the next day, after all there is a big chance that I'll be seeing Thalia tomorrow. I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek before I left and drove my black mustang (thank you dad!) that I named Blackjack over to Nico's. When I arrived Nico whistled when he saw my car. "Damn, Perce. Where'd you get that sweet ride? Did you mug someone?"

And cue ego getting bigger. "What? This old thing? Just got it from my dad, when I got here it's his way of saying sorry that we moved here when I didn't want to.. He left the keys of this beauty in my room yesterday and the address of the garage. You my friend, are one of the lucky few who's seen it so far."

"Wow, consider me honored. Hey dude why you got those books with you. You're not planning on reading at the party right?" he asked horrified.

"Of course not. Sheesh give me a little credit here. I've got this project thing with Annabeth tomorrow." I answered.

"Annabeth, huh? She's kinda cute, don't ya think cuz?" he asked with a teasing tone.

"Er... Um... I guess so, in a totally friendly way. We're just doing this project, no big deal." I answered back, sadly with a blush. Traitor body.

"Riight. Hey did you ask her to be your partner?"

"No actually. She came to me." I said a little bit confusedly

"Hmm. Well, do you like her?" he asked me.

I started stuttering, because of the absurdity of it! "I don't like like her. She's nice though..."

"And?" he asked.

"And I guess if you can make her smile beau- pretty. Pretty cute looking, in a totally platonic way."

"Tell me, how did she even know you?"

"You know, she's Thalia's best friend. Thalia probably told her the whole emperor penguin thing..."

"What? Speak up Perce, I didn't catch that last part."

"The whole umm... Emperor penguin thing?"

"Perce... What did I tell you literally the day before?"

"No emperor penguin, or sea-related facts" I repeated. "But I panicked. Her eyes, they were just so blue! And she was so close and she smelt so nice and, and-"

"Yeah, save the sweet talking for the bedroom. Okay, but tell me you didn't blurt out some random fact in your conversation with Annabeth. Perce."

I stayed silent.

"Dammit Percy, why do I even bother. Why? Just why would you do that?"

"Well, she just asked me to be her partner, and I thought she was asking me out. And when things were cleared out, it was awkward and, and, so I followed my instinct. But hey I redeemed myself in the end. I totally played it cool."

"Okay, just saying bro, you gotta stop doing that. It's weird."

"Okay, I promise not to do it at the party."

By that time we were both dressed to impress. Nico wore this tight fitting muscle shirt, with a black hoodie and some ripped jeans and underneath it all he had some combat boots on. While I decided to wear a simple white shirt, with a black blazer and some black jeans and underneath it all some black converses. My hair was messy, but stylishly messy according to Nico. Yeah... I don't know what that means either.

"Okay" Nico said. "It's time to rock and roll."

AT THE PARTY

We arrived at a huge white house, this girl called Nicole (I think) owned it. We could hear music pumping from far away and the garden was already trashed. When I entered the house the girls were looking really weirdly at me. I knew the hair was a mistake. People were dancing, jumping, drinking and anything else you could think of in a typical American teenage party. I was waaay out of my comfort zone, that's for sure.

"Hey Perce, let's go out back!" Nico had to scream even though he was standing right beside me, that's how loud the music was.

"Okay!" I screamed back.

We went out back into the garden where Nico offered me some vodka.

"No thanks. I don't drink." I said.

"Oh, come on cuz. You gotta try new and interesting stuff. Don't always color between the line, reach for the stars, and any other motivational bullshit."

"Fine, if it'll get you to shut up." I said exasperatedly.

I grabbed the bottle, took a deep breath and chugged it down. It tasted reaallly bad and it was burning my throat. But I have to admit, my nerves went from 100 to 0 after that. I liked this newfound courage, so I took another sip.

"That's the spirit. Now get in there and enjoy bro!" Nico said.

We went inside and as soon as we were in the living room, Nico and I got separated. I think saw him making out with this blonde chick, I don't really know. I walked around a little bit, not really sure what to do when someone grabbed my shirt and dragged me to the next room. Turns out it was Leo. "Hey Perce, nice to see you bro! How are you enjoying the party so far?"

"Pretty cool, um... bro. Not sure what I should do tho. I'm kind of a uh party virgin I guess."

"That's not the only kind of virgin you are" Hazel said.

Leo started laughing his ass off, and I was blushing and stuttering because, this was Hazel, Innocent little Hazel! I didn't expect that! Damn.

"I'm just kidding Perce, I assure you that by the end of this year you won't be virgin for long!" Hazel said "Not when you look like that." And then she winked at me. Okay, that's not awkward...

"Sorry about Hazel" Leo said "She's really sassy when she's drunk. She's got absolutely no filter at a ll. It's kinda really super awesome and hilarious. You gotta loosen up man, let's go do some shots." After having done 3 shots I was done. I decided to go dancing.

I danced and danced like crazy, until my feet started to ache. I decided to take a break and went outside. There I just sat down, and looked at the stars. I probably would've stayed like that, if Jason didn't come up to me and said "Heya Percy. Let's go inside, I need a partner for this game of beer pong."

"Beer-Pong?" I asked

"I'll explain it to you inside." Jason said. And once again I was being dragged. On the way to the basement Jason explained the game to me. Doesn't seem that hard if you ask me. Which is the only reason I agreed to make the game a little more... Interesting.

I take it back. This game is freaking impossible. Piper, the girl I'm playing against, kept on landing all of her shots and I haven't even made one yet. Shit, I never should've made that bet! By the end of it I was drunk off my ass and learned something. Piper Mclean is a mean winner. I decided that I won't stand her being ridiculed by the 'Beer-pong queen' and decided to go upstairs. I entered this bedroom, hoping that no one was having sex in there, and who should I see but the one person I've been keeping an eye out ever since I saw her? That's right Thalia.

I, Perseus Jackson, was alone in a bedroom with Thalia Grace.

* * *

 **Hey guys, hope you enjoyed it. I wasn't really sure how to write this chapter. I had the general outline in my head, but of course it's a lot harder to put into words. This is the best I could come up with. This is a pretty long chapter, if I do say so myself. I hope you liked it, if not tell why and how I can improve. And yes, I do like cliff hangers. Keeps people on their toes, ya know? I also edited the other chapters, cause there were a couple of mistakes here and there, and I added a couple of details in some places, check it out.**

 **Oh before I forget, I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read. Ciao for now.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

The moment I opened that door, she looked me right in the eyes, and I swear for a minute there I felt stone cold sober **(get the reference ;)**. Her eyes were just so... Blue and vivid I forgot how to breathe. Unfortunately, I ended up needing to take big gulps of air because of it, so I ended up looking like a fish out of water. Not really what I was going for. After what felt like forever, but was probably only a minute or two, I felt like she didn't want me there, so I decided to just bail. I mean, there's gotta be a reason why she'd be all alone in a room, right?

"You know, I don't know about you, but when I want to be friends with someone I usually walk up to them and you know, talk to them. It's pretty hard to be friends with someone that always runs away from you, wouldn't you agree?" She said. Holy crap, she's talking to me.

I flushed and answered something along the lines of "Er.. Um.. Gah" before I finally was able make a proper sentence. "Yeah, totally. I'm just not really good at talking to pretty girls, is all." And then she looked at me and I realized what I just said and how it sounded, to my horror. "Not that I talk to a lot of pretty girls in the first place, I'm not some player."

"So... You can to talk to ugly girls then?" She deadpanned.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean.. I don't think about girls like... I mean all girls are pretty in their own way. Not that all girls have to be pretty, I.. Gods, I... I. There's just no way for me to win this, is there?" I sighed.

And then the most amazing thing happened. She laughed! A real laugh that reached her eyes and everything! In that moment I knew I was in trouble, because when she laughed, my heart danced on that sound. She said "Afraid not, my friend. Close the door and take a seat. I think what you and I need is a fresh start." And I couldn't agree more.

"Umm, yeah sure okay! Hey, uhh, my name's Percy Jackson?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" She said with a cute little smile.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just like totally confused. Why would you even want to get to know me? You're like this super awesome punk chick and me, well, I'm just a nerd in disguise. Shh, don't tell anyone (maybe I shouldn't have taken that last shot) Why would you even bother?" I asked dejectedly.

"I like you. I like the fact that when we first met and I threatened you, you didn't pee your pants or try to flirt with me. I haven't met anyone like you, you know. I'm pretty sure I didn't meet you for nothing. I want to find out why." she answered truthfully.

And after that we just spent the whole night talking. It was absolutely amazing. I learned that she loves to make her own clothes and that she had a fight with her mom before she came to this party. I told her about that time I fell off a boat as a kid, trying to find Nemo (I was eight! Gimme a break!) to cheer her up. Unfortunately she decided to call me Kelp brains because of that. And I... don't have a nickname for her. Yet. At the end of the night I realized that she was more than she seems. She's not this cold perfect goddess, she's a real person with imperfections, hopes and dreams. Maybe it's because she was drunk, or possibly high, but she showed me this whole new side of her. I got know her, and show her who I was without feeling ashamed or embarrassed and that was pretty amazing.

THE NEXT MORNING

I woke up in a bed with a raging hangover and Nico's face hovering above mine. "Morning cuz!" He all but screamed at me. "How are you doing this fine day! Hope you had a great time last night!"

"Shhh. Shut the fuck up, will you? I think we should talk with our inside voices now and for ever." I croaked. "I fell like death by the way. I'm never ever ever ever drinking again."

And the fucker just laughed, as loud as he could might I add, and said "Trust me cuz, you'll be eating those words. I said those exact same words when I first drank as much as you. Here, I'll whip you up my special hangover cure elixir. But first, drink lots of water and get out of bed. Breakfast is served."

At the mention on breakfast my stomach churned and I ran to the bathroom emptying what little I had in my stomach into the toilet bowl. Nico just stood by the door and said "Ahh, I remember my first hangover. To be young and innocent again. I woke up with a hangover and a girl in a house on Long Island. To this day I have no idea how I got there or who she was. Had a nice ass tho. And a scary father."

"Will you please just start making that hangover elixir thingie?" I groaned.

"Sure thing cuz. You've got some explaining to do!" He said with his shit-eating grin.

After I made sure I wouldn't throw up again I joined Nico in the kitchen and drank as much water as I could. Nico made me drink this purple concoction that tasted like dog shit and vinegar, but I gotta admit. I did feel a lot better afterwards, to the point that I could eat again.

"So Perce, where did you disappear to last night with a certain and I quote 'Blue-eyed goddess' ?" He said with a knowing smirk.

"Nothing happened, okay? I just escorted her to her house, to make sure she got there safely. That's all." I said.

"Seriously? Nothing happened? Nothing at all?" He asked incredulously.

"Well... There was this one thing...

 _FLASHBACK_

" _Hey Percy, thanks for bringing me home. That's really nice of you." Thalia told me_

" _No problem! I was raised to be a gentleman after all. Just wanna make sure you're safe." I said with this British accent. I really don't know why, it just... Came out._

 _Thankfully she just smiled at me, grabbed my forearm and said seductively"So... Do you want to come in for some coffee?"_

"Oh it is on for my boy Perce!" Nico interrupted me.

"Dude, trying to tell you a story here."

"Right, sorry. Continue."

 _Now, I might not have a lot of experience with girls, but even I knew what she meant with that. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't even tempted a little to say Hell yeah! , but she was drunk and possibly high. I didn't want to take advantage of her. And this was Thalia. If she and I ever got together, I want to make sure that she will remember me and everything that happened. So, with great effort, I declined I faked a yawn and said "Thanks, but I think I'm just gonna hit the hay. I've got a big day tomorrow, need my sleep. I'll see you around, okay? Bye!" And then I bolted to Nico's without looking back, afraid of what I might see._

 _END FLASHBACK_

"In other words you chickened out like a little bitch." Nico said.

"What? No! Look trust me, I want to win Thalia's heart and body, but not like this. Not when she's intoxicated and vulnerable. She just had a fight with her mom before the party and drank a shit ton of alcohol. I don't even know if she'll remember last night, let alone if she and I slept together. This sucks, but I made the right choice." I said

"Wow, Perce. You really like this girl, huh?"

"I do. I really do. Nico, I think I'm falling for her. Last night I got to know her, the real her. Before she was this untouchable perfect goddess that I admired from afar, but now she's this real person. She's a person with dreams and wishes and flaws. And I want to get to know all these little imperfections and cherish them. I know this sounds absolutely fucking insane, but it's like she lit this fire inside of me that makes me feel alive. When I'm with her, I feel more alive than I have in all of my 16 years on this earth!" I confessed.

"Hate to say this to ya, but what if she got offended?"

"What? Why would she be offended- What could I have possibly done last night to offend her?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, from my experience girls don't like being rejected. It tends to make them feel.. insecure and embarrassed." He answered back.

"I... didn't even think of that! What if she hates me now because she thinks I don't find her sexy? No, you know what, I'm pretty sure Thalia doesn't even remember that. And even if she does, she'll understand that I meant well. Right?"

"Huh, looks like denial isn't just a river in Egypt." Nico said. "You know what Perce, maybe this is good. This way, you can move on from this whole Thalia fiasco and hit the bars with me as your wingman."

"Well, actually Leo would be my- Hey wait. What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked.

"What?"

"Ever since I first laid eyes on her, you've been against this whole Thalia and me thing. You've been nothing but negative and unsupportive and trying to discourage me every chance you get! I want to know, why?" I demanded.

"I just want to keep you safe okay? I don't want you to get hurt!" He answered back.

"No, there's more. It's like you've got another reason why you don't want me and Thalia to end up together. There's more to it than that, I can see it. Please, tell me why? What? Do YOU like her?" I asked seriously.

"What? That's ridiculous! No, of course not! I-"

"Then why Nico? Why can't you support me on this, huh?" I asked him.

*Sigh* "Alright fine. You wanna know why?" He said.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure that's why I asked you why." I answered back sarcastically.

"Ok, dumb question. I don't support this, because you're my family and I don't want you to get hurt, okay? I'm not necessarily against the idea of you and Thalia, although I'm not a big fan, but against love itself, okay? I just don't want you to fall in love and get your heart smashed into pieces. I've been in love. It's painful, pointless and overrated." He confessed.

"And Thalia, she'll walk into your heart and make you feel loved and wonderful and when she's certain that you can't live without her, she'll just... Leave. She will make sure she's your whole world and then rip it all away until you're left with nothing but a shadow of you once were and memories that'll haunt you. For the rest of your life."

I stayed quiet for a while and after having gathered all of my courage, asked him the one question I've been dying to ask:

"Do you speak from experience?"

* * *

 **Aaaand that's a wrap. Sorry for the long wait guys, some family just turned up unexpectedly so I had to help my mom with everything. However, to make up for making you guys wast this long (and ending on yet again another cliffhanger) I promise to upload the next chapter tomorrow! I hope you enjoyed this one, I must've rewritten it a hundred times, before deciding to just plunge into it and see what happens. It is by far the longest chapter I have written so far, I hope you guys appreciate it and enjoyed it. If not please review and tell me why and how I can improve it in your opinion. That's pretty much it, I hope you guys all have a great New Year and better luck with your New Year's resolutions than me. I already broke like 4 of my New Years' resolution :(**

 **Oh before I forget, I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read. Ciao for now.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

"What?"

"I said, do you speak from experience? Because if you and Thalia used to go out, then I will back off. I may like her a lot, but you're my bro Nico. I wouldn't do anything that makes you feel bros before hoes, ya know?" I told him.

"No! That's crazy, dude. I appreciate the gesture, but I never went out with Thalia!" He said a little too quickly if you ask me.

"Then how-"

"I used to know this guy that did. His name, was or I guess still is Austin Lake. But before I can tell you what happened between Austin and Thalia, I have to tell you how Thalia became the way she is today. You see, she wasn't always this punk 'goddess' that she is today. Oh no, she used to be a really nice girl. Everything changed when I was 14. It all started with one of my best friends coming up to me and saying..."

FLASHBACK- 2 years ago

Nico's POV  
"Nico, my main man! I need your help bud. There's this really hot girl with an out-of-this world ass and I need your help to seal this deal!" Luke greeted me with. Lucas Castellan, captain of the football team, bane of all single (and not single) guys and one of my best friends in the whole world. The reason why all guys basically hated him is because ALL of the girls wanted him and, why wouldn't they? He's got the short-cropped sandy blonde hair, the sky-blue eyes with a mischievous smile, an athletic and muscular build and charisma coming out of his ass. We've known each other since the 6th grade, when I was being bullied by a couple of older kids and Luke pretty much saved my ass. He's 2 years older than me, but got held back a grade for... Domestic reasons you could say.

Flash-forward to Friday, the end of my first day of high school as a freshman, and you'd be right here, the time I was having this conversation.

"What? The old 'Castellan' charm not working on this one anymore?" I teased him.

He looked mock offended and said "Ohhh, you sir are playing a dangerous game there with fire. One wrong move, *hiss* will get you burned!"

We both laughed after he said that and he continued and said "Nah but seriously, this girl. She's different from all of those cheerleaders and athletes I usually go for. She's a little bit more... Vanilla sugar you could say."

Right at that moment one of the most beautiful girl I have ever seen walked past us with her friend. How to describe her? The ultimate girl-next-door. That's the only way I could describe her really. She wore this white sundress and had her long raven black hair in a pony tail with the cutest black rimmed glasses on her face. She looked like the ULTIMATE girl-next-door, the kind you're mother dreams of you marrying.

"Niice, right? Her name's Thalia, I used to go elementary with her before she moved away. I think she used to have a crush on me or something, not really sure. But I'm planning on striking while the iron is still hot." He said.

"So, you need my help sealing the deal with her?" I asked him dubiously.

"Sort of. I invited her to the All Time Low concert and the only reason she said yes was because I told her that she could bring a friend and that I would bring a friend too. That is the only reason she said yes. You see why I need your help, right?

"I'm not going on a date with some random chick. Why don't you ask Austin instead?" I told him. Austin was our other best friend. I really bonded with him over our love for the mythomagic game. He was the only other person in my class in 6th grade that used to play that game too. One day when I was playing on my own, he walked up to me and asked if he could join and we really clicked. Ever since the 6th grade you could find me with Luke and Austin, my two best friends in the whole world. We were like the three musketeers, only without the fighting and saving damsels.

"Aww, come on you know Austin, he's a real egghead. He's probably nose deep in a book. Or working on the next ground-breaking theory that will 'finally' win him a noble prize. And you aren't going out with some random chick! Her name's Annabeth, really nice girl by the way, and she's Thalia's best friend! There she is right now, next to Thalia, the blonde chick with the nice eyes." He told me while nudging me.

She wasn't half-bad, but I don't really go for blonds. I told Luke this and all he said was "It'll be fine bro. It's not a double date, I just need you to keep her friend busy while I try to get it on with Thals, okay? I mean look at her! You can see that this virgin is just dying to be 'broken in' if ya know what I mean" *wink wink*

When he saw my disgusted face he groaned and said "I was just kidding (mostly)! I didn't want it to come to this, but you sir leave me no choice. I like her okay? And before you give me the whole 'Bullshit, you barely know her' or 'YOU don't LIKE girls, you just wanna sleep with them' speech, save it. I lied. I was the one that used to have a crush on her and that's why I never liked any other. She used to be my best friend and I never thought that I'd have a chance with her back then. But now I do! I owe it, to the young and hopeless Luke to at least try to make this happen, but I need your help. Please? For me?"

I caved. "Fine, fine. I suppose you do have a point. Austin will be too busy studying to accept and I guess I could keep Annabeth busy for a while. But this better not be some fake thing you made up, just to get me to agree" I threatened.

That bastard had the gall to look offended and said "What? ME? Lie to get a girl in bed? NEVER! I am a gentle man to the very core!" He laughed and said "But seriously, I really do like her. And I really appreciate this bro. Anyway let's go to my place."

"Why?" I asked him confused.

"To get ready for the concert. Didn't I tell you that it was tonight?"

"Umm, you most certainly did not."

"I'm pretty sure I did Nico." He said matter-of-factly.

"I think I would've remembered that Luke."

"Oh, well too late to back out now." He reasoned.

"Dammit Luke! What if I had plans? Did you even think of that?" I exclaimed.

"Well, did you?" He retorted.

I stayed silent for a couple of minutes, because I did in fact have absolutely none, and said "No, but it's the principle of things! You can't just assume that I'm always free you know. What if I had a hot date for tonight?"

He laughed at that and said "I'm sorry buddy, but that's just impossible. You blush whenever any girl talks to you and splutter incoherent words whenever you talk to them. I love you buddy, but you are not good with the ladies. Yet. I'm gonna teach you everything my uncle Barney thought me about the ladies and by the end of it they won't be able to keep their hands off of you. That's why you won't be coming home tonight. We've only got a couple of hours till the concert, and we're gonna need every single one of them."

-Line break-

"... and that's why you should NEVER buy her a plant or any living thing for that matter." Luke explained to me. We are standing in front of Thalia's door to pick her and Annabeth up for the concert. Luke coached me the whole afternoon explaining the do's and don't's when it comes to girls. I never knew there were so many! After making me talk to a bunch of strangers, I can safely say that I am not nervous anymore. In fact I'm kind of looking forward to this concert. Annabeth seemed nice and if it doesn't work out at least we could be friends. I should tell her that blondes aren't really my type before she falls hopelessly in love with me. I never thought Luke would go for the 'good' girls, he always went for the 'slutty' cheerleaders or taken athletes. Oh well, there's always a first time for everything. And hey, who knows. Maybe Thalia will be good for him, he has been hanging around some questionable looking people lately.

Before I could think any further the door opened and my breath hitched. Thalia looked amazing. She wore a black sundress this time and had her hair in this complicated looking braid. Behind her stood Annabeth, blond hair in a bun and sporting a grey sundress with black flowers on the skirt part.

"Thalia, you look absolutely amazing. I'd like you to meet Nico, my best friend."Luke said.

I waved and greeted her with an awkward 'Hi'.

"Hello, nice to meet you. This is Annabeth, she's my best friend." Thalia introduced her with a voice smooth like silk. After that Luke took her hand and guided her to the van, that was being driven by a chauffeur that we hired, and left me with Annabeth. I awkwardly held my arm out for her and thought to myself 'Why am I so awkward? Just an hour before this I was getting a girls number, no problem. But now suddenly I'm all nervous and shy? What the fuck dude. Snap out of it!' I walked her to the van and held the door open for her. She thanked me and then we were on our way to the concert.

Or so I thought.

* * *

 **Oooh I am so evil. I'm so sorry for ending it on yet another cliff hanger. (Not really actually.) But as promised, new chapter in a day, and another long one at that! Not really my best work, but it turned out pretty good I think. With this chapter the plot does thicken. *Dramatic music in the background.* I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter, if not please tell me why and how I can improve your reading experience. How did you guys like seeing the story trough Nico's POV? Loved it? Hated it? Didn't really care about it? Because the next chapter will still be in Nico's POV and in the past. If you guys didn't like the POV change, I** **could keep the rest of the story in Percy's POV (except for the flashback without Percy in it, that would just be ridiculous.) However if you guys, did like it I could experiment some more with POV changes. It would be great if you guys could tell me your opinion on it, so I can gauge what you guys do and don't like. Anyway that's all I really have to say.**

 **Oh before I forget, I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read.** **So peace out hombres!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Nico's POV  
"Hey guys, I hope you don't mind, but I made a reservation at this pizza parlor I thought that we could get a bite to eat before the concert, you know." Luke announced casually. The girls all agreed, cause well you know: Free food. Scratch that: Free Pizza, so of course they wouldn't mind, I however...

"Wait. What." I said, because this was not the plan! The plan was to go to the concert, keep Annabeth busy so that Luke could make his move and then go home, just in time to watch Gravity Falls (don't judge!). This is not what I signed up for!

When I whispered all of this to Luke he laughed and whispered back "Relax dude. Change of plans, a girl like Thalia requires wooing. If you wanna get with her, you gotta step up your game. You can't just take her to a concert and expect it to be enough. You gotta wine her and dine her. It's called class Nico, look it up."

After seeing my scathing look he relented and whispered "Fine, fine. That was all a load of bullshit. I realized that we agreed to meet up 2 hours too early but it was too late to postpone our date so I made some last-minute reservations at the pizza parlor. There, you happy Truthy McGee?"

"No! Of course I'm not happy. You have now given the universe countless chances to embarrass me on this date, not to mention awkward silences and worst of all I'm probably gonna miss Gravity Falls." I lamented.

Luke just shrugged and decided to strike up a conversation with Thalia, leaving me all alone with Annabeth. Great.

Annabeth's POV  
The things I do for my friends. Here I am, the great Annabeth Chase, stuck on a double date with my supposed best friend Thalia Grace. 'It'll totally be fun' she said, 'You won't regret you came' she said. So far, I've only said about 3 words to my date. I'm not planning on saying anything else now, it's his turn to start a conversation. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long:

"So, uhh Annabeth I really like your dress. I really like those, umm black flowers on your skirt part." He complimented me. Of course he did.

"Thanks Nico. I really like yourrr... shoes." I complimented him back.

"Oh, thanks I guess. I mean you are wearing the same ones." He pointed out, observant isn't he? Note the sarcasm. We were both wearing black converses.

"Yup, and I really like them." I said after the small awkward pause.

"Yeah, me too."He answered lamely.

God, could this get any worse? Nico seems like a nice guy and all, but he's not really my type. I prefer smarter guys who are hopeless romantics. Looks don't really matter that much, well sort of. I mean, who wouldn't wanna be with a cute guy? Anyway, Nico doesn't really seem like that type of guy. He's not ugly (not by a long-shot) but he's not my type. I should tell him before he falls hopelessly in love with me. In the pizza parlor. Yeah, that seems like a good idea!

"Sooo Annabeth, you looking forward to the concert?"He asked me.

I brightened at that question and replied "Yeah! It's the main reason I even agreed to go on this double date! I like All Time Low, I think they're all right. But I'm just really a big fan of the rock genre."

He brightened at my answer and said "You like rock? Why didn't you say that from the beginning? I think that we now have much to discuss!" And for the rest of the ride we pretty much just talked about rock, bands, songs and by the time we arrived at the pizza parlor I realized that Nico was all right. Still not my type, but not bad.

Thalia's POV  
From the moment I first saw Luke's mischievous blue eyes and smile in the first grade I got hooked. And when he sat by me during lunch when no one else did, I knew that Luke was just the nicest guy ever. And now I can't believe I'm going out with Luke Castellan. THE Luke Castellan. I've liked this guy, since forever. And here I am sitting across him in a booth in Luigi's Pizza Parlor **(Sorry if I offended anyone with that name. I couldn't think of anything better.)**! Could life get any better than this. Oh yeah, it totally can. Because right after this I'm gonna be going to a concert with him! *Internal screaming*. And so far he's been a perfect gentle man! My parents warned me about him, saying that he's been hanging around the wrong people lately and that people change, but they don't know Luke like I do. I know that Luke isn't evil and would never steer me to the wrong path. I'm almost 15 for gods sake, I can make the right decisions! Parents. What're you gonna do, am I right?

"So, Thalia I don't know if I told you this already, but I really like yourr... Hair. It's doing a great job of hiding that horrible scar on your back." He complimented (?) me with that charming smile of his.

"Ohh... Thanks." I replied.

"No problem, no problem at all. Hey Thalia, did I ever tell you about that time I scored..." And then he proceeded to tell me this awesome story about how he scored the winning touchdown last year, when he was just a freshman. **(Or, the writer was just feeling way too lazy to actually write all of that)**.

By the end of it all, all I could say was "Wow, Luke. That's so amazing. You're so amazing!"

He gave me another charming smile and said "Why thank you Thalia." And then leaned forward and said "Did anyone ever tell you how great your eyes are? I could write a whole a sonnet, just by looking into your eyes. Plus they're doing a great job of distracting people from that gap in your teeth"

And I was hooked. I think I'm falling for Luke Castellan. Gods, he's just so charming and nice. He's like no other guy I've ever met! I managed to stop myself from squealing like some fangirl at a concert (I'll just save that for the concert) and instead sighed and said "Thanks Luke! You're so romantic! I like your eyes too by the way." whilst twirling my hair.

He just gave me another one of those charming smiles of his (gods I could never get enough of that smile of his!) and I swear I could see a twinkle in his eyes. For the rest of the lunch Luke kept complimenting (?) me like a true gentle man and was just the most charming guy you'll ever meet. I don't understand why my parents are so apprehensive of Luke. So far he's been a totally great guy.

Once I finished my pizza I excused myself to the bathroom and dragged Annabeth with me.  
"Soo, how are things going with Nico?" I asked her suggestively.

I expected her to blush instead she just shrugged her shoulders and said "Pretty good, pretty good. He's not really my type, actually seemed more like yours if I were being honest, but otherwise pretty good. I'm planning on telling him that I just wanna be friends, 'cause there are just no sparks at all. I just hope he hasn't fallen hopelessly in love with me yet."

"Wait, wait, wait. Back up there a little. How is Nico more my type?" I asked her confused.

"Well, to be honest Thals I always imagined you with a goth guy. I don't really know why. It just seemed like something that would happen." She answered back equally confused.

"Thanks but no thanks. I'n not a big fan of rock, you know that, let alone goth or *shudder* Punk. Anyways, that doesn't matter because I like Luke. Annie, I think I'm falling for him. He's just so cool and charming and nice and perfect. Perfect in every way you could think of." I told her.

She gave me an incredulous look and said "First, don't call me Annie and second are you sure? You guys just went out on one date, no wait. Scratch that. Not even one date, because it's still going. Isn't it a bit early for the L-word?"

"When you know, you know." I just told her.

She just looked at me uncertainly and said "Okay, if you think so. Just be careful, okay Thals? I don't trust that guy. He just gives off this bad vibe." After that she walked away, leaving me here wondering wether she ws right and I'm being blinded by my love for Luke.

Annabeth's POV  
I can't believe Thalia thinks she's falling love with that guy. He seems too perfect, if you ask me. And I would know, I'm like the leading expert on perfect.(Kidding, kidding.) Back to the issue. I don't really trust that guy, especially the way he looks at Thalia. I should do some digging on this guy, make sure he's not some psycho murderer now, as her best friend it's my duty. 'But how to do it without attracting suspicion on myself?' I thought and then it hit me. A plan worthy of Athena! I should just befriend Nico, and get info from him. He is Luke's best friend after all, so he'd know wether or not Luke's up to no good. But first I should let him down gently, so that he'll still wanna be friends with me. When I reached the table, I saw Nico and Luke stopping their conversation and Nico staring at me. I sat down and thought 'Oh gods, he probably told Luke that he loved me.' This is gonna be awkward.

I was contemplating wether or not I'd have to do this in front of Luke when Thalia, my saving Grace, saw us and said "Hey Luke, I think we're all done here. How about we go pay now?"And then proceeded on grabbing him and dragging him away from the table. I just gave Thalia a thankful look that she answered with a nod.

"Soo..." Nico started, but I decided to interrupt him before things got too awkward.

"Nico, I have to tell you something." I started. 'Okay, now let him down. Gently.' I thought. "I don't like you and I don't think I'll ever like you." I blurted out. 'Nailed it.' I thought sarcastically.

When I looked at him, I expected him to look devastated and maybe even on the verge of tears, but instead he looked relieved and said "Thank gods! I didn't like you that way either. Blonde know-it alls really aren't my type."

I was relieved at first too, until I realized what he said. "Hey! I'm not a know-it all." I told him feeling indignant.

He just gave me a incredulous look and said "You pointed out all the typos on the menu and then proceeded on correcting it, you kept correcting me and arguing on wether or not you're right."

I grumbled and said "Well, at least I'm not some weird Goth kid who just sulks whenever he's proven wrong."

He looked at me offended, I looked at him indignant, and suddenly we both burst out laughing. "Gods," he started, "why the hell are we even fighting? This is so stupid. We both don't like each other like that, so we should just drop it. Friends?"

"Friends" I answered. "Now let's go enjoy that concert, as two friends who both love rock very much."

"Lets." He said and we were on our way to the concert.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. I'm gonna be honest guys, I'm not really proud of this chapter. It's definitely a filler chapter, but it had to be done. This way you can see what the relationship is between the characters and how different they all were before Percy met them. I know Thalia's reeaallyy OOC here, but trust me that'll change. I just wanted to show you guys how she different she was from the Thalia of now.**

 **Anyhow I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, if not please tell me why, constructive criticism is always, always appreciated. Or, if you have any ideas or suggestions for the story, I'm all ears. As for the update schedule, that'll be a little tricky. I can update every other day right now (if I'm really feeling inspired the next day) but I know that I won't be able to keep that up when school starts. So I was thinking of something along the lines of updating at least 2 times a week (so that means that this will be the minimum, so it's possible that I'll post more that 2) if I don't have any exams. Wednesday will definitely be one of the days I'll post a chapter, the other will probably be posted around Friday. I can't give a permanent day for the second chapter, but Wednesday will definitely be an Update day.**

 **Oh before I forget, I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read. Ciao for now.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

AT THE CONCERT (like nearing the end of it)

Thalia's POV  
Oh. My. Gods. I think I'm in love... With a little thing called Rock! Seriously, I can't believe I ever said that I'm not a big fan of rock, 'cause obviously I was deaf my whole life until now! I'm planning on expanding my horizons and discovering new and exciting bands with the help of my best friend, and expert on all things rock, Annabeth Chase. I can't believe my parents banned me from listening this genre, it's fucking awesome! The concert, so far, has been awesome and Annabeth and Nico seem to be getting along great. Luke has been a perfect gentle man so far. I love the fact that there are no awkward silences between us, you know? The conversation just seems to flow naturally, and whenever there's a pause Luke always has a story to tell.(he's experienced so much already!). And I learned so much about Luke this way, he's really interesting and that smile, gods, that smile does things to me like no other thing could.

"Hey Thals, I'm having a really great time." Luke yelled at me (the concert was a little bit loud).

"Me too! I'm so glad you decided to bring me with you. Annabeth and Nico seem to be getting along great." I yelled back at him.

"You want to 'enhance' your first concert experience?" He asked me with his charming smile (when did he get so close to me?)

"What do you mean by 'enhance'?" I asked him, confused and a little apprehensive.

Then he showed me a zip-lock bag with these white sticks (?) in them. They kinda looked like cigarettes, but all white with the ends rolled up? I'm not really good at explaining this, but I'm pretty sure that that was drugs. All my life, my dad sheltered me from these things, so of course I was shocked to see this! I don't know how he could have gotten these! They're like illegal or something!

"Is that... How did you get this Luke?" I asked him apprehensively.

"Ehh, couple of my buddies know this guy that know this other guy, you know, the usual sitch. You want a drag baby?" He asked me with that charming smile of his.

"Umm, no thanks Luke. I don't think this stuff is good for you. Why can't you just enjoy the concert without it?" I asked him confusedly.

First he looked a little mad at me, so I was starting to get scared, but then he must've seen the fear in my eyes, because after he looked at me face he smiled again, smoothed out his features and said "You know what? I think I will. I'm on a date with a beautiful girl, got great music around me and good friends. Why would I need to smoke this? Thanks Thals, it's great not to need to do anything, you know? Around my other friends I always have to do something, or else "I'm out" whatever that means." and then he laughed, for a while. Weird.

I smiled back and said "Great! Let's go enjoy the rest of the concert then!"

And it was great. Nico was the first to get back to his place, afterwards the driver drove us back to Annabeth's house, where I was staying for the night. I told my parents that I was staying over at Annabeth's 'cause my parents would flip if they found out that I went on a date with the Luke Castellan. Sometime's you gotta be bad, ya know? Anyway Annabeth went in first, as to and I quote 'Not ruin you finally getting some, lord knows it's long overdue'. Don't I just have the best friend ever?

"Soo, I bet you one kiss that you had a great time today. In fact, probably the best time ever" Luke said haughtily.

"Luke, drop the act." I deadpanned.

"What act?" He asked me confused.

"The whole, 'Player' act, with the back-handed compliments and arrogance. I've known you for a while and I know that you can genuinely be a sweet guy. You know, that guy I fell for back in elementary and never forgot about?" I told him.

He coughed and said "Sooo, you thought about me all the time then?" with an arrogant smirk.

"No!" I exclaimed. "Not all the time. It's just... Whenever my thoughts wander, they always found their way back to you."

He took a deep breath. "Thalia... I really like you know? You make feel safe and it's like I'm 12 again with my whole life ahead of me. Like the biggest problem in the world right now is wether I have cooties because my best friend is a girl or wether I even care if I get cooties because I don't want to lose my best friend. I know I've been acting like a class a jerk, but it's just, I'm like super nervous right now. I've been dreaming about this for years and I guess I'm just scared that you'll realize how great you are and how shit I am." He admitted and then looked down.

"Hey, Luke. Look at me. You may have been acting a little bit like a jerk, but I know that deep down you're still a great guy. I don't care about what you've done since I last saw you, as long as you can promise me that from now on you'll be the same Luke that I fell in love with." I confessed.

"You're in love with me?" He whispered.

I looked at his hopeful expression, for once free of the always lingering arrogant and guarded mask he wore, and was reminded of the Luke Castellan with the mischievous eyes and crooked smile I really fell for way back in the day, and said with absolute conviction "Yes! My gods Luke, yes! I know we've only been on one date, and I hope I'm not scaring you off, but by the gods Luke I'm in love with you, and I'm not afraid to say it."

He smiled at me, but not his charming smile or his arrogant smirk, but the smile I used to see on his face before the world burdened him with reality and robbed him of his innocence. The smile he gave me, was filled with hope, happiness and innocence, the kind you'd see on a 6-year old boy who just found out he there's a chance that he's gonna have breakfast for dinner. And then he gently grabbed my face with his hands and brought my face closer to his and gave me my first kiss. It was short, sweet, shy and absolutely perfect.

Afterwards he whispered "I love you too." and gave me a small smile and then he was gone.

Nico's POV  
I was right. I missed Gravity Falls, dammit! *sigh* Guess I'll have to watch it online. Well at least I made a new friend today and even gave her some fashion advice. I know! Me! I actually gave someone fashion advice. Mark my words, someday you'll see my name on a billboard with some of my designs, with Di Angelo written in some fancy script.

Anyway, I just told her to wear what she feels like wearing and to not give a fuck about what people think of her. If she wants to wear band tees, then she should fucking wear bad tees. You've only got a limited amount of fucks to give in this world, does you really want to waste it on unworthy, judgmental not to mention boring 'normal' people who look down on you because they're jealous of the fact that you do what you really want to do, or do you want to spend it on something worthwhile like yourself, music and people that want to help you? When I told her that, she actually agreed and even complimented me by saying "Huh, so you do have a brain up there." Having met and known Annabeth for all but a couple of hours, I took that as a small victory, to be honest.

-Line break-

So Luke and Thalia have been going out for a couple of months now, 6 to be exact, and honestly? They're pretty fucking annoying. They constantly speak to each other in this weird different language, I call it... Relationese (patten pending). It consists out of words like 'Snuggly-bear' and 'Honey-boo' and relies heavily on body language. Being alone with them is just so uncomfortable, you can literally feel the sexual tension and cut it with a knife. I'm just glad Annabeth and Austin were here, 'cause otherwise I think I would've killed myself. Luke though has been acting more like himself again. He seems to have stopped hanging around Ethan and his crew and instead opted for hanging out with me and Austin again. Which is great, I knew Thalia would be good for him. They're great for each other. Thanks to him Thalia seemed to have been experiencing new and exciting stuff and going on more adventures and Luke has been acting a lot more like his former self. They looked really happy together.

Everything, for once, was peaceful and calm. Little did I know, it was the calm before a storm.

* * *

 **I'm really sorry guys, for this way overdue chapter. There was this unexpected... Tragedy, let's leave it at that. I will focus** **on writing more, and to make it up to you guys I'll post a new chapter by tomorrow. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it just flew from my fingers to be honest. I didn't really have to think about it, in fact, it just came naturally. Please, tell me how I can improve and what you'd like to see happening, or hey, if you have some constructive criticism it's alway welcome.**

 **As to why there are different POV's, it's a lot easier for the story to progress if you can see the characters progress with it. I know, technically, Nico's telling Percy this story, but it saves a lot more time seeing how different Thalia was back then first-hand by knowing her thought process than by Nico explaining why she did something. See it more as a flashback, like in some movies where a character thinks back on this event where you see things that the character couldn't possibly have seen.**

 **Btw, I know Luke's not a bad guy, but someone's gotta be the antagonist, ya feel? And to be perfectly honest, I don't really like Luke. I mean I acknowledge the fact that he was the one to end the war and I salute and respect him for it, but in a way, didn't he also start it? He did clean up the mess he made... And took away hundreds of lives with him in the process. He played a pivotal role in the war, and was the cause of the death of SO many demigods. A lot of demigods have had bad childhood, but that doesn't mean they'd side with the bad guys who lets be honest, probably would've treated them worse. All demigods resent their godly (and sometimes even non-godly) parents in a way, but they didn'T throw a temper tantrum and decided 'Fuck it. If I can't get what I want I'll make 'em regret it!' Like, WTF? He exploited** **innocent characters' love and trust for him, and placed a need for love about the duty of demigods.** **He failed to look beyond his own needs and acknowledge the limitations or, I don't know, Ancient Laws, that bound Hermes. Look at Thalia and Percy. They both had a reason to hate their godly parents and go against the gods, they both had a sucky home life, did they go against the gods? No! They knew what was the greater good and chose the lesser of two evils. Whew, sorry about that guys. Luke's kind of a sore spot for me. I just really did not like him. What about you guys? What did you think of him?**

 **Almost forgot, I posted a poll and I think you guys** **should check it out. It's about who you guys want him to end up with. I sort of have a general idea in my head, and kind of a plot-line too, but I'm not sure that's what you guys want to read. Frankly I could see this story going different ways, with different outcomes. Right now though, it really depends on what you guys want to see. So please, vote (You get 2 votes) or tell me in the reviews and/or pm me.**

 **That's all, so ciao for now!**


	9. Chapter 9

Nico's POV  
I should've known something bad was about to happen. I mean, I've lived long enough to know that peaceful moments never, and I mean NEVER last. Recap: Everything was absolutely great, Luke and Thalia were happy, Annabeth was embracing her inner (or should I now say outer) rock goddess and Luke started acting like his old self, hanging out with me and Austin again instead of the Titans (a sort of gang in our school). Life was great and everyone was happy. So, of course everything went to shit after a couple of months.

It didn't happen right away, mind you, but gradually. The signs were all there, but I wasn't paying attention to it. Maybe if I were more aware of my surroundings, I would've noticed the way Austin seemed to just randomly stare at Thalia, or how his face seemed to light up at the mere sight of her or even how much time they seemed to spend together. I would've noticed how Luke seemed to be gone for a while, how he started speaking to Ethan again, or even the fact that he seemed to be influencing Thalia to do stuff she wouldn't normally do. If only I communicated more with Luke, checked if there was any domestic trouble, I could've stopped him from relapsing. Maybe if I paid attention to all of the signs instead of ignoring them, I could've saved people from a lot of pain, heart break and regret.

Thalia's POV  
These past months have been absolutely wonderful. Luke was just great! He started acting like the Luke I fell for, way back in the day, and he stopped hanging out with his sketchy looking friends and even stopped smoking! How great is that? He's been opening up to me about how his dad never really paid attention to him, unless he was getting in to trouble at school, or anywhere really, and how his mom started losing her mind when she found out that Luke's dad was cheating on her. He said that being with me, was all he will ever need. And to top it all off, I'm getting along with all of his other friends. Austin is such a sweetie! I'm surprised he doesn't have a girlfriend yet.

I thought he would've made a great couple with Annabeth, what with them being smart and him not being ugly, but when I suggested this to Annabeth all she said was "Eh... Not bad, not bad I'll admit. But, I prefer guys with raven hair. It's just a personal preference. Blondes just don't really do it for me. plus, he seemed to be into someone else."

"Oh, really who?" I said.

"Why do you care?" She inquired.

"He's my friend. I worry about him." I confessed.

"Oh. My. Gods. Thalia! Please don't tell me you like him!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"What! No, of course not, he's just a friend! I've got a boyfriend!" I said, feeling a bit indignant. "I just feel bad for the guy. He's just so nice, and no girl will go out with him because of it. They just end up friend zoning him."

"Nice guys finish last. It's sad and unfair, but hey, at least they get to finish. The other guys sometimes don't even end up near the finish line." She told me knowingly and walked away, leaving me with my thoughts.

Dam, Annabeth never told me who he likes. Eh, I'll just get it out of him later on. Not that I was considering going out with Austin or anything, I really love Luke. But he has been acting strange lately. I've seen him hanging out with Ethan, more and more and that seriously worries me. I'd hate to see Luke get back to the deep-end, my parents were just starting to warm up to him. How he managed that was a pretty great story:

 _We were going out for a month, secretly because I was scared my parents were gonna find out somehow, and he decided that he wanted to tell my parents that we were together._

" _What! Luke are you crazy? My dad would probably make us move just to break us up." I exclaimed._

" _I can't stand this anymore Thals. I love you so, so much, I can't stand seeing guys hit on you at school. I've waited so long for this to happen, and now that it did I just wanna scream from the rooftops 'People from New York, I'm going out with Thalia Grace!' at the top of my lungs." He told me seriously._

 _I blushed, because I never thought anyone would feel this strongly about me. "But what if... What if they still don't trust you? What if they force me to move, or make me go to that all-girls boarding school and I never see you again?" I said, my voice trembling._

 _He just smiled gently at me and said "That won't happen Thals, and if it does, then I'll come find you. I let you go once, never again Thals. Not to mention my dads 'I'm sorry I missed your football game son' make up gift covers all costs. If he tries to hide you, I'll come find you. And if he puts you in an all-girls boarding school, well... I've been told I could pass for a girl with the right dress."_

 _I giggled when I heard this and my heart soared at these words, so I kissed him like there was no tomorrow. "Okay, we'll tell them tomorrow and afterwards... We'll tell the world." I whispered._

 _His face lit up and honestly he looked absolutely adorable. "Yes! Yes! I finally get to declare my love for you out loud and in front of other people. And I finally get to beat up those assholes flirting with you."_

 _I laughed and said "Someone getting a little jealous there Honey-bear?"_

 _He shuddered._ " _Gods, don't call me that. Remember, only around our friends if we want them to leave. And don't act like you haven't been glaring at every girl that looks at me." He said with a smirk._

 _I turned red and muttered "Jerk..."_

 _He just laughed, kissed me on the cheeks and said "I've gotta go prepare, if I want to impress your family. I'll see you tomorrow, dinner at your place."_

 _-Line Break-_

" _I don't see why he's even coming. Thalia, sweetie, we both know that you and that Castellan kid aren't going to last. Why waste a perfectly good steak on him?" My dad said._

" _Darling, please try to be more supportive. Remember, you promised!" My mom reminded him._

" _Yeah dad! In fact it was his idea to meet you guys." I_ _announced._

" _Really?" My dad said. There was a pregnant pause before he said "He's obviously too much of a coward to break up with you, so he's making me do it. Not only a junkie, but a coward. I thought we raised you better Thalia!"_

" _Father, can you please, for once, support me? I love him, ok? And he changed, he doesn't hang out with Ethan and Co anymore." I told him, exasperated._

 _Before he could retort, the doorbell rang. Oh gods, I am so not ready for this._

 _-Line break-_

 _My mom opened the door, with a dressed up Luke standing there with flowers in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Gods, I love seeing him like that. I swear, I forgot how to breathe for a minute there._

" _Good evening miss Grace, it's nice to see you again. I must say, even though it's been years since I last saw you, you haven't aged a single bit." Luke greeted my mom with his charming smile._

 _My mother instantly approved of him and said "I must say, it's a pleasure seeing you again Lucas. You've certainly grown."_

" _Why, thank you ma'm! My mother gave me this wine, as a token of gratitude for having me here tonight," He said while handing my mom the wine "And these, are for you Thals." he said while giving me the roses, my new favorite flower, and kissing me on the cheeks._

" _It's already bad enough you've brainwashed my daughter, but now you're defiling her right in front of me?!" My father roared._

 _Instead of panicking, Luke remained calm when he approached my father and said "Mr. Grace, a pleasure seeing you again. I apologize if giving my girlfriend flowers and kissing her on the cheeks offended you. I hope I can earn your forgiveness, and promise not to do it again, in front of you at least." he muttered the last part softly, so that my dad couldn't hear him._

 _My dad looked surprised when Luke didn't flinch at his outburst and offered his hand saying "Listen here Castellan, I don't like you. I do not approve of your relationship with my daughter, however she seems to be fond of you, so I'm willing to give you another chance. But mark my words, hurt her even once, and I promise you, you will have hell to pay. There's no where in the world you could hide. Are we clear?"_

 _Luke visibly gulped and returned my father's handshake with equal force and answered "Crystal, sir."_

 _My mom decided to diffuse the tension by announcing that the steaks were ready._

 _-Line Break-_

 _Dinner so far has been going smoothly, with Luke being his ever charming self. In fact I swear I saw my father smile when Luke told them about the time he went to the dentist and noticed that there was snot dripping onto the dentist's lip and and when he tried moving away, the dentist told him to Stop, so the snot ended up falling into his mouth. Gods, I love that story!_

 _Everything was going great, my parents were warming up to him, when something went wrong. He started chocking on the steak after taking a bite, but didn't say anything, instead opted for drinking water instead. It didn't work, so fifteen seconds later my mom ends up doing the Heimlich maneuver and he threw up all over the floor. Things got worse when our two miniature schnauzers started to lick up the aftermath. I looked horrified and felt a little queasy, because gross._

 _My dad put his napkin down and left the room. Luke looked horrified, and said dejectedly "I screwed up, huh."_

" _No, no. This could've happened to anyone." I consoled him. "You were doing great so far, right mom?"_

" _Oh, yes dear. Zeus was starting to like you. Just give him a couple of day and he'll have forgotten all about it." She answered, sounding even unsure to herself._

 _But then Luke got this determined look in his eyes and said "No. No, he won't. But I'll talk to him right now, man-to-man. Face-to-face. I love you Thals, and I know how much your parents mean to you, so I'll get him to like me. I know it! I promise."_

 _And then he left and entered my dads study and closed the door. I couldn't hear a single thing they were saying. I shared a worried glance with my mother and decided to help her clear the table._

 _-Line Break-_

 _I don't know what he did or what he said, but after two hours my dad and Luke left the study and were laughing with their arms on each other's shoulders. "Thalia, you be careful with this one, yeah? I approve of your relationship." He said._

 _I was confused, but decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and said "Um, great dad. Thanks!"_

" _No problem princess." He answered back. "Oh, and Lucas?"_

" _Yeah?" Luke said, whilst putting his arm around my shoulders._

" _Just because we're on better terms now, doesn't mean my threat doesn't stand." My dad said darkly._

 _Luke just gulped and said "I'll keep that in mind sir." Afterwards he left with a kiss goodbye on my cheek and that was it. We were officially and publicly together ever since._

* * *

 **And boom! Another chapter! Boy, they seem to be getting longer and longer. After this chapter, the story will** **progress a lot faster. I wanted to show you guys how Luke and Thalia were as a couple. I didn't just want to dump a load of drama, without at least showing you how Luke and Thalia interacted as a couple. I'll be posting a new chapter tomorrow, 'cause it's Wednesday, upload day. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, if not please tell me how it can improve and what you'd like to see in future chapters. I realised I haven't thanked you guys enough for the current reviews, so Thank you! I appreciate it, knowing people actually read what I wrote. An thanks for not prying into my personal affairs, I appreciate it.**

 **Oh before I forget, I posted a poll on my profile, you guys should check it out. It's about who you'd like to see Percy end up with. I'd really appreciate if you guys voted, so that I can see what you guys wanna read. I've already sorta got a plot in my head, but it's nor set it stone. I could easily see it ending another way than i originally imagined. So, please vote so that I can see what you guys want to read.**

 **As for Luke meeting Thalia's parents, the part where he choked really did happen to someone on Reddit, by a guy named 'quite right'. Just showing credit, where credit is due.**

 **Loved reading about you guys' opinion on Luke and seeing people's different POV's on him btw. It was really interesting and some of it really made me think for a while. Wether you loved him or hatted him, we all gotta agree that he played a major role in the series. Wether you like it or not, he was the Hero of the prophecy, and I was kinda glad he was. Everyone, practically, expected Percy to be it, so when it turned out it was Luke? Mind. Blown. But, in a way, it's kind of right that he ends it, you know? He started it, so he should end it. It's kind of like poetic justice, in my eyes.**

 **Anyway I should probably stop here before this rant ends up longer than the story. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10

Annabeth's POV  
It's been 7 months since that Luke and Thalia's first date and I've gotta say, a lot has changed. I've gotten a lot closer with Nico and Austin and Thalia and Luke's relationship has progressed quite nicely, I think. I haven't really hung out with them the past month. Luke has been acting weird... Different. He stopped giving Thalia random gifts and flowers, he's been acting a lot more paranoid and frankly a little more like the jerky Luke from 7 months ago. Of course Thalia is absolutely blinded by love to see all of these things. In fact, now that I think about it, Thalia has been acting weird too. I don't know when, but she's started tagging along with Luke whenever he's going to hang out with his 'friends'. She seemed to have also picked up drinking, which is very odd and out of character for her. I hope she's okay.

I'm going to confess something, I've been ignoring her. I'll admit it, I'm jealous of her. But I'm sick of her blowing me off and only hanging out with me when Luke's not there. Even before when we were little kids, guys would just flock around her and I'd be left out. She has this tendency to just throw herself in a relationship, I've learned. I get that Luke is her first boyfriend ever, but it kinda hurts that she's been ignoring me, for Luke and Austin! Whatever, I've gotten in this exchange program in San Francisco. It's until the end of the school year, because I just really need to be away from my parents for a while. I hope that nothing will change while I'm gone.

Thalia's POV  
So, I've decided to give Luke's new friends a chance, since I want to show him that I'm a supportive girlfriend. Our relationship has been... less than stellar you could say. So one day I decided that I wanted to sort of, not save it, but preserve it. This is how it went down:

" _Hey babe, where you going? It's movie marathon night, remember? Tonight'S special: Superhero movies!" I told Luke._

" _Oh, yeah... About that. I can't tonight babe, I told Ethan I was gonna meet up with him later." Luke said._

" _What! But... but, this is our tradition. I blew off Annabeth for this!" I exclaimed, a little hurt._

" _Well... If you want you can call Annabeth and have this movie marathon with her." He retorted._

" _What are you and Ethan gonna do anyway that's so important, huh?" I asked him angrily._

" _We were just gonna go to this new club. I heard it was off the chains!" He said, kind of reminding me of some douchey frat guy._

" _I'm coming with." I announced._

 _"Are you sure? It's awfully loud there, and frankly, I_ _don't that that's your kind of scene. How about you have a quiet night at home, mmkay?" He said_

 _I just gave him a cold stare and said "Luke I'm coming with you."_

 _He turned around and sighed, but I swore I saw a triumphant smirk on his face when he said "Fine. If you insist, you can come with. We're leaving in thirty."_

After that night that's I've become a lot more confident. Let's just say we had a veery special night that night. I'd tell you all about it but... A lady doesn't kiss and tell. Ever since I've been going to more parties and learned that I liked drinking after Luke convinced me to and I think I'm hooked. All my life I've been sheltered from this and now I'm glad Luke's showing me how to live. I've let loose and decided to live a little, like Luke told me to. It seems to make him happy, and I really like seeing him happy.

I will admit though, I do find myself missing how our relationship used to be. Luke randomly showing up at my door step to take me out on a surprise date. The random little gifts he'd give me, to show me that he's thinking of me. I especially miss the good morning and good night texts. But I suppose as we mature, the relationship matures with us. Now instead of going out to get ice cream in the middle of the night, we're in a club dancing until 2 in the morning. Don't get me wrong, I like that, but sometimes I do wish he'd show me he loved me more you know? I kinda miss the 'immature' Luke who laughs at my jokes, even if they're weird. Now all we seem to do is party, drink and dance.

Nico's POV  
"Hey man, haven't seen a lot of you lately. How're you and Thalia doing?" I asked Luke.

"Hm? Oh, pretty good, pretty good. Did you know that underneath that 'girl-next-door' facade there's this wild bad chick, just waiting to be let loose?" He said.

"Umm, no, no I did not. I didn't really expect that. Are you sure?" I asked him uncertainly.

"Ohh, yes my friend. After her first club experience, she has changed. She's been tagging along with me and Ethan and the gang. You really should join us one day, the boys wouldn't mind you know. I could hook you up."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass. I'm not really into the whole 'club scene'"

"Come on Nico. We haven't hung out in ages. We're best buds remember? Please?"

"Fine." I relented. I mean, I just want to make sure he's okay.

"YES! This is great, finally you and me, painting the town red. I'll pick you up at your place, aight?"

Oh gods, what did I get myself into?

-Line Break-

So, I'm in a club. I gotta say Ethan? Yeah...He's fucking scary. What's with his eye patch? And that weird creepy smirk. And that douchey haircut? I definitely can not stand how he looks down on me. As if I should be happy that he tolerates my mere presence and I should just kiss the ground he walks upon. What a jerk.

The music sucks, Luke seems to be goading Thalia into drinking more and random people seem to be grabbing... Body parts on the dance floor. Yeah... I'm out. I'd rather be in a mosh pit than this dump.

I've been looking for Luke for the past hour, can't find him. I decided to go outside, to grab some fresh air you know. There I found Luke, smoking. Nothing new really, he's been smoking on and off ever since he first started hanging out with the Titans. Thalia seemed uncomfortable do with what Luke was telling her, so I decided to sneak closer to eaves drop. What? I'm a curious and nosy kid, sue me.

"Come on Thals, just give it a try. Come on" Luke said, while holding the cigarette out.

"Ohh, umm. I don't think it's safe Luke." Thalia answered, sounding a little bit uncomfortable.

"Please, just once. To prove that you love me." He said with puppy dog eyes, putting the cigaret in her hand.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, probably trying to think straight.

Seeing this, Luke gave her a charming a smile and said "I love you, you know that."

And she seemed to have lost herself after that. Blinded and confused by love, she did what he said. She brought the cigaret to her mouth and breathed in the smoke for the first time and coughed so hard it seemed like her lungs were gonna fall out.

Luke gave her another one of his charming smile and said "Good girl." He then took the cigaret from her took a drag and then kissed her, purposely getting smoke in her innocent lungs again. She once again coughed violently, but still managed to smile.

Me? I felt absolutely sick after witnessing this. I mean what the fuck is wrong with Luke? Getting her hooked on this stuff? He already got me, now he had to get her too? He knew how unhealthy this was, he knew that she didn't want to and he manipulated her into doing it anyway? This is just sick and wrong. I decided to confront him, right now. I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to secluded spot and said angrily

"What the fuck man? Why'd you force her to smoke?"

He just looked at me as if I was crazy for getting mad in the first place and said "Whaat? I didn't force her. She was the one to bring the cigaret to her mouth and she was the one to take a drag. Surely you saw this?"

"Why? Why would you do this? Why would you get her hooked on drinking, smoking and partying?" I asked him disbelievingly.

"I just want to show her a good time Nico, there's nothing wrong with that." He answered back nonchalantly.

"Yes, yes there is. You're corrupting her and ruining her life. What's next, huh? Drugs? You gonna 'convince' her to start smoking weed? How about crack? You gonna get her hooked on crack too?"

Luke started to get angry and retorted "Why you being like that man? I was nice enough to get you on the list of this club and paid for drinks. Why are you busting my balls? She's my girlfriend and I'll do whatever the fuck I want with her. You don't like it? Well tough luck, you're not involved in this situation. Just mind your own goddamn business."

I just shook my head and said "Look, I can forgive you for killing my goldfish in the 5th grade. I can forgive you for asking out Shelly Woods to the dance even though you KNEW I liked her. I can even forgive you for corrupting me and introducing me to this unhealthy lifestyle. But. I can not, will not, stand by and let you ruin Thalia's life. She's a good girl, a great girl even. Way too good for you. I don't know why you relapsed and turned into a jerk again and frankly I don't care anymore. I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life, but I'll warn Thalia. I'm not gonna let you ruin her life."

He just laughed and said "Yeah, good luck with that pal. She's in love with me. Whatever you tell her about me will just go into one ear and leave the other. Why do you care so much anyway? Huh? What, do you like her? Is that it? Does witle Nico have a crush on my girl? You think you're some hero saving her from the big bad wolf?"

"What?! Of course not. No! We're just friends. And I can't just stand by as you manipulate her into doing things she clearly doesn't want to do. As a good friend I wanna be there for her and protect her."

He looked at me disbelievingly and said "Really? Reallyy? Then where were you when I needed you Nico? Where were you when my dad was beating me? Where were you when I started drinking and smoking and doing drugs?"

I stayed silent, because... I wasn't there for him. When all of this happened I found out I had a long lost sister in New Orleans and so I was spending all of my time on catching up with her.

"Yeah, that's right. You were off in your perfect little world with your sisters and parents. You had time for Austin, but not for me. So don't preach about being a good friend or some other shit. You wanna know, why I hang out with Ethan? With the Titans? It's because they were there for me when no one else was. When every one was off in their perfect little world with a home and a family. I was all alone, with no one else but my thoughts. Ethan was there for me. The Titans were there for me, when you weren't." He spat at me.

I was shocked and felt ashamed. I looked down and apologized. "Listen, Luke I'm really sorry that I wasn't always the best friend I claim to be. I'm sorry that I was a shitty friend, I really am. But that doesn't mean you have to drag Thalia down with..."

"With what? With me? If down is far away from you, then I don't mind. Consider this the end of our friendship." And then he left me, standing all alone in a dark alley, far away from home.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. Whew, this was a long one. Was working on this one 'til late into the night. I'm gonna have to take it easy on the writing for now** **though. Next chapter will probably come out in the weekend, because 3 back-to-back chapters on a school week is a little bit stressing. Hope you guys understand.**

 **Btw, what did you think go the chapter? Love it? Hate it? Didn'T really care for it? It's my longest one, so far. I predict that this background story still has a chapter or two, three max to go before we're back in the present. Please tell me what you guys liked and what you guys didn't like so I can improve as a writer. Oh and don't forget to vote on the poll so I know which direction you want me to go. Thanks for the reviews, they make my day, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson**

Thalia's POV  
It's been a week since I started smoking, and I really miss Annabeth and Nico. I know Annabeth was really looking forward to going on that exchange program, and I'm happy for her really, but I wished I spent more time with her. But Luke comes first, he's the most important person in my life and he doesn't really want me bothering Annabeth. He says that she's probably really busy over there in San Francisco, he's thoughtful like that. He also wants me to spend all of his time with me, well actually all my time with him, but same difference! He probably loves me so much that he wants me around all he time. I get to do stuff like drive him and pick him up, he's also all for equality like letting me pay for some things.

Ever since Nico tagged along with us last week, it seems like he's been avoiding Luke and me. Whenever I walk into a room he seems to be just leaving. It's weird. I hope I didn't do anything to offend him. I kinda miss that little goth.

-Line Break-

"Heya Death Breath, what you been up to?" I asked him while plopping down next to him on the couch at Austin's place.

He looked startled and answered "Ohh... Hey, Thalia. Nothing much, nothing much. I was just leaving actually, I remember I still have a, uhm ahh... Cookies in the oven at my place?"

I gave him a 'are you serious right now?' look.

He actually had the audacity to look offended and say "Whaat? Can't a guy bake every now and then? Sheesh, way to be a sexist there Thalia! I will not stand for this! Good day!"

Then he tried to storm off, but I grabbed his arm before he could walk away."Sit down!" I ordered. "You are gonna sit down and tell my why you've been avoiding both me and Luke! And don't you bother calling Austin, he helped me plan this out."

He sat back down with a defeated look and said "Why? Why do you even care?"

"Umm, because you're my friend?" I retorted, you could practically hear the 'doy' after I said that.

He gave me a disbelieving look and said "Am I? Am I really? Because it seems to me that you didn't even notice that we stopped hanging out, after we hung out for one day, last week! If you were really my friend, wouldn't you have noticed that you practically molded yourself with Luke months ago and stopped hanging out with me and Annabeth, then?"

I was really confused right now "What?"

He just sighed and said "Never mind. Not important I'm going home." and then tried to leave again.

This time I stood up and asked "What do you mean 'molded myself with Luke'?"

He stopped walking and sighed, once more, and said "You know what? Never mind. It's not important." And then continued his journey to the living room door.

"No. No. It's obviously important enough for you to mention it, so stop being a little bitch and spit it out!"

He froze, turned around and I swear I saw a look of hurt pass by his eyes before the glazed over with determination. "Fine. Fine! You wanna know what I meant with that?"

When I gave him ma "Umm, yah. It's why I asked. Duh." answer he continued as if I never said anything:

"It means that you're doing all of the work in that so-called relationship and he's reaping all of the rewards. Your relationship with Luke started out great, in fact, I was kinda jealous of you guys. But then something happened. The dynamics in your relationship seemed to have shifted. Suddenly Luke reverted back to his old jerky, manipulative asshole self. He started hanging out with the Titans, except this time instead of stopping him you joined him and gave away everything that made you, you, to fit him. You gave up you individuality, thoughts and wishes. Thalia, can't you see? He's destroying you!"

I looked at him as if he slapped me and said defensively "No. No! That's not true! Luke, loves me!"

When he looked me in the eyes, his seemed to soften when he said "He may love you. No, I know for a fact that he does, I bet that underneath all of that manipulation, damage and lies in his head, he probably thinks about you all the time. But that isn't what matters. Not really. What matters is what he's doing about it. And I'm sure you've noticed, he isn't really doing anything for you anymore. He stopped showing you that he loves you, stopped trying to get you because in his mind he already got you and that that's enough. But I think you deserve more than that Thals. You deserve someone who goes out of their way to make it obvious that they want you in their life. Someone who will never stop trying to get you, even if he already got you. I can't stand by and watch him mistreat you, but. I also know that you wouldn't believe, in fact I don't think you believe me right now, and that's why I've been avoiding you. I couldn't stand by an watch him destroy you, but I knew you'd never believe. So I opted for avoiding you instead. I've been avoiding Luke, because we're not friends anymore. I haven't been the best friend to him, and he probably got tired of it. Lord knows I got tired of always having to go with him to parties, get drunk and a hangover the next morning. That plus, he's been a shitty friend to me too."

But I stopped listing after he told me why he was avoiding me, because my mind was going a hundred miles an hour, thinking about my relationship with Luke, objectively. And I realized I couldn't do that here, not with Nico watching me. So I grabbed my jacket and keys, left the house and drove away. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew was that it was away from all of... That. Away from Nico, away from Luke, away from all of my problems. I needed to clear my head, so I just drove.

-Line Break-

I ended up at the beach, Montauk beach to be exact. The ocean did always calm me, in a way that nothing else could. Maybe I was heading there subconsciously, maybe it was a coincidence, whatever the reason I'm here now and I've got a lot to think about. I mean, was Nico right? Was Luke destroying me, on purpose?

And I thought back on my relationship with Luke. But this time, instead of stopping after the perfect 6 moths, I thought back on the past month. I thought back on that triumphant look he gained when I insisted on going with him to that club with is friends. I thought back on how he insisted on me drinking, how he always said 'To prove that you love me' when he wanted me to do something I was reluctant on doing. How he got me hooked on all of these bad habits. But the nail on the coffin was when I remembered who I was before Luke. And once I saw who I used to be, I got sick. I felt disgusted, because Nico was right. Luke was destroying me. But.. Maybe he could also fix me?

I got startled out of that reverie when my phone went off. I got a text, from Nico:

 _I'm sorry._

I decided to go see Luke, needed to see him, and talk. Just like how we used to talk, before all of the booze, smoke and sex. Before everything got complicated. I needed to prove to myself that Luke, that Luke I fell for, was still in there. With my mind made up, I headed back home to Luke's arms.

-Line Break-

When I knocked on his door, Luke's face lit up at the sight of me, and for a brief second I thought that things were gonna be okay, that Nico was wrong, until he opened his mouth. "Hey babe, you made it just in time. We're leaving in 20 mins, so get dressed. Ethan just texted me about this college party, it's gonna be out of this world. Plus he just scored us a bag of weed. You can't bail on me now, because tonight is the night. Tonight is he night that you're gonna try it."

I looked uncomfortable when I said "Actually Luke, how about tonight we just, uhm, stay home. Maybe have a movie marathon like old time's?"

He looked confused and said "Why on earth would we do that, when there's this totally awesome party we can go to?"

"Well, I was thinking, it's been forever since we had a movie marathon and we have been going to parties non-stop for the past month. I just thought it'd be fun, you know?" I answered back.

"Thalia, Thalia, Thalia. We've outgrown that! Movie marathons is something people do when they can't go to awesome parties like us. Buuut we can go to awesome parties, so we don't need to have some lame movie marathon." He said distastefully as if it was obvious.

"I thought you said you loved our movie marathons. You said nothing in the world is better than a movie on the screen, popcorn on your lap and me on your arm!" I recounted.

He just gave me a puzzled look and said "When did I ever say that?"

I looked at him, hurt. "On our 1-month anniversary!?" I exclaimed, furious.

He just gave me an 'Oh' look and said "Look, babe. I... Give me a minute to explain... Okay...I got nothing. Why are you being like this babe? Do you have your period or something?"

Aw, hell no! I was furious when I retorted "No! I'm just sick and tired of going to parties all the time. Why can't we have a quiet night in for once?"

"Because, that's for boring, old and lame people, okay? If you want to be one, go ahead. But don't expect me to become one, just for you! I'm not gonna change who I am for anyone!"

"And yet, I had to change who I was, for you."

He looked startled when I said that. "Well... That's different."

"Different how exactly, hm?"

"I.. I.. I wouldn't say change exactly but.. Improve! Yeah, that's it. You improved who you were, thanks to me."

I just stared at him disbelievingly. "Luke. Do you hear what's coming out of your mouth? Three months ago I was perfect in your eyes, now you think I could have improved?"

He actually looked at his watch and said "Look, Thalia. I don't know what you want from me, okay? I don't know what got into you today. All I know is, that I've got a party to go to, and if you don't want to come with, fine. But I'm not gonna miss an epic party, just because you're PMS'ing right now. Can we just talk about this later? I'll call you." And then he was gone.

He never called.

Nico's POV  
I felt absolutely awful, sitting there in Austin's living room, staring at the door hoping that Thalia would come back in and say... I don't know what I'd want her to say, actually. All I know is that right now I'd do anything to have her come back in, sit beside me and just watch something with me, anything. How ironic. I've been avoiding Thalia all week and the one time I want her here with me, she's not here.

"Hey man, you okay?" Austin asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Of course, never been better." I answered back.

"For what it's worth, I think what you said was completely absolutely true. Thalia deserves someone like that. Someone reliable. Someone who cares for her. Someone who listens to all of her problems, and lets her be herself. Someone-"

"-Like you?" I interrupted him.

He got startled when I said that, as if he forgot I was here, and said "What? What are you talking about, man? Why would you say that?"

And I thought to myself 'Hey, I've already had a life-altering talk with Thalia, why not with Austin too?' and instead of avoiding this topic by changing it I decided to throw caution to the wind and answered "Because I know Austin. I KNOW you like Thalia."

He just looked at me as if I struck him, been getting that a lot lately, and gaped at me like a fish. Once he regained control of his mouth he said "Whaaat? Me? Like Thalia? Psh, ridiculous. She and I, we.. we, we're just friends. Best buds."

I just gave him my 'Seriously bro?' look and said "You looked at her just a little bit too long to be 'just friends'. Listen, it's cool Austin. It happens. I understand how you COULD fall for her, trust me. I really do. But I don't want to see you get hurt. She's got a boyfriend."

He deflated with a defeated look and said "I know, okay? I KNOW she's got a boyfriend. I hear about him almost every day. But I also know that they won't last. They won't. I just have to be patient and play my cards right."

I looked at him sympathetically and said "Austin.. Don't do this. There are plenty of girls out there for you, why you gotta get the one that has someone?"

"There may be plenty of girls out there, but not like this one. She's amazing, enchanting even. Nico, I think I'm in love with this girl!"

I'm not gonna lie, when I saw his eyes when he told me that my heart broke, just a little. His eyes were filled with love, hope and determination for Thalia, and I realized that even if her and Luke ever broke up, I'd never get her. There will always be someone else, someone better, for her. From that moment on I decided that Thalia and me? Never gonna happen. Even if she was single, even if we were the last people on earth she an I: never gonna happen. There'S always, always gonna be someone better. And for the first time ever I acknowledged the feelings, that I tried to hide even from myself, for her were going nowhere.

I swallowed hard and said with a heavy heart "Wow Austin. That's.. That's great man. But.. Are you sure? Are you sure this isn't a mistake?"

"Nico, my man, I don't think Thalia should ever be considered a mistake! I'm pretty sure she loves me too in some way, but she's just scared to lose Luke, cause they've been together for quite a while. It's not gonna last long anymore however, because sooner or later she'll realize that I'm the guy for her, not Luke. While Luke is inconsistent and doesn't realize the goddess that he's dating should be worshipped, I do. When she realizes this and dumps him, I'll treat her right, the way she should be treated!"

I realized then too, that it no matter what I say, Austin isn't gonna change his mind. He really believes this with whole his heart. He's gonna do this, he's gonna make this mistake. There's nothing I could say to deter him from pursuing Thalia, absolutely nothing. I'm gonna have to stand by, watching my best friend get his heart broken by Thalia.

No! I don't know that! Maybe, maybe it'll work out between them. Maybe they'll be a great couple. Or maybe she won't even break up with Luke, meaning Austin will have to move on. Yeah, there's no guarantee that Luke will keep being an asshole. Maybe they'll talk, really just sit down and, talk about their relationship. Maybe Luke will change for the better and they'll be happy. I shouldn't worry about the what-ifs.

I just stared at Austin and said "Maybe, bud. I hope you get her."

He just smiled and thanked me. "I'm glad I've got someone to talk about this now. This was a great talk man."

I just gave him the best smile I could plaster on my face right now and said "Yeah, anytime man. Anytime. If you and Thalia ever do... you know... Then please, promise me you'll be careful. I'd hate to see you get hurt."

"Nico, I don't think Thalia would ever hurt me."

I just nodded my head, but in my heart I knew that from this day on, nothing will ever be the same again. I had a feeling of dread brewing in my stomach, a storm was coming. And by gods, it's gonna be a big one.

* * *

 **Whew, that was a biggie. I'm fairly certain that the chapters seem to be getting longer and longer. When I was writing this one, it went** **slowly at first but then it seemed to be writing itself and before you know it BOOM over 2.5k words. I hope you guys enjoyed it, it'll probably be a while before I write another long chapter like this one. If you guys didn'T however, please tell me why and how I can improve. Or if you just had an AMAZING idea for the story (or even just an idea) I'm always open to suggestions. The next chapter will probably come out on Wednesday, it's gonna be a busy, busy week this one. I won't have as much time to write, so I'll probably be dropping 3 chapters at most this week. Hope you guys understand.**

 **So, this background story will be done in 2 chapters max. Once it is done, the poll will close because we'll be back in the present time. So if you wanna vote, vote now (or, you know, tomorrow or something) because I've gotta have a concrete answer by... Let's say Saturday. Please check out the poll, it's on my profile, and vote for who you want Percy to end up with. So far there's a tie (not gonna say who) between 2 lovely ladies and unfortunately this isn't a harem story so I'm gonna need a concrete answer. That's pretty much it, once again, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the reviews so far (they make my day) and thanks in a dance for any future reviews you may post. Peace out.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson**

Thalia's POV  
It's been a day since our fight and Luke still hasn't called me. Why hasn't he called me yet? And what a dick move of him, just leaving in the middle of our fight! We used to have fights before, of course, but he always faced them like a man. I don't know how much more of this I can take. The constant partying, the lack of romance. I'm not the girliest girl around, but it wouldn't hurt to get a compliment once in a while, just because he wanted to. Lately he seemed to only compliment me when he wants me to do something for him. He's stopped being kind and generous and stopped doing sweet romantic things for me.

I know we're not in the honeymoon phase anymore, but that doesn't mean he gets to treat me like this. I...I don't know what to do anymore. Nico's words kept running through my mind. He was way out of line. He shouldn't have said those things, he doesn't have the right to. And yet... He wasn't wrong. Luke did stop doing the little things, only now do I realize that those little things? Yeah, they're not that little.

I can't do this right now. I shouldn't be alone. I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contact list, wondering if I should call him. When I saw his name, I pressed 'call'.

Nico's POV  
I got woken up by the sound of my phone ringing. I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes when I picked up, so I didn't see the name.

"Hello?" I yawned.

"Hey, Nico. Did I wake you?" At the sound of her voice I suddenly felt more awake than before.

"Thalia? Hey, yeah you kinda did. But it's okay, I was probably gonna wake up soon anyway. So... What's up?" I asked her, intrigued. I mean, I thought she was never gonna talk to me again after what I said. She didn't answer my text, so I just assumed we weren't friends anymore.

"Can you come over? My parents are gone, and I really nee someone to talk to." She sounded so vulnerable... If this was any other person at any other time I probably would've declined, but hearing her sound like that was just... Wrong.

"Be there soon." I answered.

-Line Break-

"Hey, sorry if I bothered you." She greeted me with.

"It's no problem Thals, I am your friend after all." I retorted.

She gave me a ghost of smile in return. This felt like a sensitive situation, one that requires tact and

discretion.

"So umm... Why am I here exactly?" I blurted out. A diplomat I am not, that's for sure.

"Me and Luke had a fight last night and he said he'd call but he still hasn't and it's already noon."

Noon? Damn, I overslept. Wonder why my mom or dad didn't wake me up? Oh right, not the time to be thinking that right now. Focus Nico, here's a friend that really needs you right now! What should I say though?

"Oh. Do you... Do you, uhh, want me to call Austin" I asked uncertainly. Man, I thought this was Austin's job.

She shook her head and said "No, I just want to forget about Luke for a while, you know? I want to be able to forget about him, the same way he can forget about me." And she had this look in her eyes, one that made me worry about their future. It was a look of determination, determination to forget about her relationship with Luke, even if it was just temporarily it still made me wary.

This feels like I'm trespassing on dangerous territory. I should tread carefully. I finally confronted my feelings for Thalia and acknowledged the fact that we're never (EVER) gonna end up together, and... I'm fine with that. No, really I am. However, spending the whole day with Thalia raised some red flags in my head. I should decline, but...

"Okay. If you want you can come with me to this Green Day concert, this evening. I was planning on going with Luke, before all of.. Well you know. And Austin isn't really a big fan of rock so.."

A look of understanding passed her eyes, before curiosity filled it instead. "Green Day? Is that a person, or a band? I'm confused so right now."

I looked at her, disappointed. "You don't know Green Day? They're only one of the greatest punk rock band ever!"

She just looked defensive and said "Hey, I'm new to the whole 'rock' scene okay? Before that concert I refused to even listen to anything Annabeth wanted me to. My parents always told me that rock was 'the devil's music' and that I'd go to hell if I even thought of listening to it. Don't look so disappointed at me!"

After that whole speech, I had trouble keeping my laughter in. "Oh, Thals. I wasn't looking disappointed at you, but at the fact that Annabeth didn't educate you properly. Sadly I can't let you hear them right now, so you'll just have to see them in action tonight."

"Wait. I'm confused. Why can't you let me hear them?"

"Because you never should listen to a band's/person's music on the day of their concert! All day everyday before the concert is fine, but not on the day of the concert itself! Didn't anyone tell you that?"

She stared at me, amused. "Nope." She said, popping the 'p'.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked warily.

"Because you look cute when you're mad."

I blushed and sputtered before answering, indignantly "Hey! I am not, nor ever will be, cute when I'm anything! I am Nico Di Angelo, and I am not cute! I think the word that you were looking for was: Scary!"

She just laughed at me. Rude. But, I've gotta admit I like seeing her laugh. Especially after seeing her look so vulnerable and sad this morning. It's kind of a relief seeing her laugh. And I won't lie, it kinda felt great knowing I'm the reason she's laughing right now. Like i'm doing something right for once.

Once she was finished laughing she asked me what I wanted to do.

"I dunno, you choose. We're already doing something I wanna do tonight, so you get to choose what we're gonna do for the rest of the afternoon. Sh just gave me this evil looking smirk, and I gulped. Maaybe that wasn't a good idea.

Yep, I was right. Bad idea. Rookie mistake. Never let Thalia choose what to do. If you do you'll end up where I am. Where you may ask? Oh, nowhere special you know just getting a lap dance... at a gay strip club of course. How did I get in here you ask? Well, either my fake ID is very convincing or, most likely, Thalia knows a guy here. I don't even want to know how or why she would know a guy here. So, I am currently getting a lap dance from some blond guy (obviously not ugly) named 'Sunshine'. I'm sure that's not his real name. So far, I can't complain I guess. I mean, he obviously knows what he's doing and all, but I'm not really comfortable. I dunno, maybe it's the fact that I got tricked into coming here, or the fact that all of the strippers are dudes or most likely, that fact that I'm not gay. At least, I don't think so. I never really thought about frankly. All I know is, I'm never EVER gonna let Thalia blind fold me again.

-Line Break-

Thalia's POV  
I'm not gonna lie. Today is probably the best day of my life. I have blackmail material on Nico now, got to see his priceless expression when he realized that it was a dude giving him a lap dance, and am for once not worrying over Luke. It's weird how I didn't really miss him at all today. It kinda worries me a little too, because I remember back when Luke and I started dating every moment spent away from him felt like agony. Now, I was kind of relieved. Before I could continue that train of thought, I heard the doorbell.

When I opened it, I had to rub my eyes because it wasn't Nico standing there, but Luke.

"Luke. What... What are you doing here?" I asked him apprehensively.

"What do you mean? I'm your boyfriend. Do I have to have a reason to come see my girlfriend?" He asked me, kind of angrily.

"Noooo, but you haven't really been acting like my boyfriend. You didn't even call me today, even though you said you would!" I retorted back angrily.

He just rolled his eyes and said "Whatever. I was busy, okay? I was suuper hungover this morning. But I was also right. You missed an EPIC party last night babe. It was just legendary. You, see-"

"-Yeah, that's great Luke", I interrupted him, " but I kind of have plans right now. So if you could just tell me all of this later, or you know don't, that's cool too." I said coolly.

He stared at me, surprised. "Plans? You? With who?"

"Nico. He's taking me to a Green Day concert. In fact he'll be here any minute, so if you could just get out of here, that'd be great." I answered.

"What!? That little shit! Who does he think he is, taking MY girlfriend on a date! When will he be here? I'm gonna punch his lights out and show him not to mess with me!" Luke roared.

Crap. And of course, right at that moment Nico arrived. Fan-fucking-tastic! Before I ould even warn him, Luke ran towards him and gut-punched him, really hard. He fell with an 'oof' and stayed down when Luke started kicking him.

"You bastard! What the fuck do you think you're doing, taking my girl, MY girl out on a date, huh? Didn't think I'd find out? I'm gonna GUT you like a fish!" Luke spat.

Nico just groaned in response. I was panicking, but I knew I had to do something. That's why, when I reached the both of them, instead of screaming at Luke to stop I punched him. Right on the nose.

Luke groaned and said "What the fuck Thalia? Why did you fucking punch me on the nose?"

"Because, you were hurting my friend." I spat. I was really angry at him. Who does he think he is? Hurting Nico like that. I checked to see if Nico was okay, thankfully he was, when Luke said

"Thalia, we need to talk. Now." And then he went inside my house. I was tempted to just leave with Nico, take him to the hospital when he said

"Thalia, you should probably go inside and talk with Luke. You guys really need it."

I looked at him, unsure when he insisted that he was fine. "Will you just go already?"

"But what about the concert? What about you?" I asked him, concerned.

He gave me a small smile and said "I'll be fine. I think that you've got more important things to worry about than the concert. I'll bring you back some of their albums instead, and maybe a t-shirt. If you go talk to Luke ,like right now."

When he saw me hesitate, he stood up and winced a little before shooing me towards my house. When I reached the house and looked back, he was gone.

"What took you so long?" Luke asked me.

I just glared at him and said "I was making sure Nico was fine."

He just scoffed and said "Trust me, he's fine. That little shit got worse beatings in the past and survived. He's like a little cockroach. Impossible to kill."

I was starting to get really mad, furious even, with Luke. I was starting to get fed up with him. Who does he think he is, treating me like shit? You wanna know what's the most fucked up thing was? After everything he's done, everything he's put me through, I still loved him. Even now, looking at him I still felt some butterflies in my stomach. And I absolutely hated that, because eI realize that he doesn't deserve that.

"What do you want Luke?" I sighed.

He looked hard at me before saying "It's over."

I wasn't sure if I heard it right and so I said disbelievingly "What?"

He just looked at me, unfazed. "You heard me. It's over. Finished. Done. Ended. I am, Lucas Castellan, am dumping YOU, Thalia Grace." He told me, speaking to me as if I was a little kid.

I felt tears well up, before asking him "Why? How could you? Don't you love me?"

He just sneered at me and said "Love you? Who could ever love a girl like you? Thalia, you're a mess. You drink, you smoke, you party. You're disgusting. I never loved you, I was just using you. Now that I've seen everything there is to see, I've got to say: Not really impressed."

My heart shattered, then and there. I was absolutely devastated. The only reason I even drank and smoked was because of him.

"But... But.. You're the one who made me drink and smoke. You're the one who dragged me to parties."

He stared at me, as if I was the most disgusting creature he's ever seen. "Wow. You can't even own up to your own responsibilities. I didn't force YOU to do anything. You chose to do them."

I felt the tears run down my cheeks, I genuinely loved him.

"But.. I love you. Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to you?"

For a second, I thought I saw a flash of guilt and regret pass through his eyes as if he didn't want to do this but it must have been a trick of the light because he blinked and suddenly all I saw was cold, merciless eyes.

He smirked and said "No! You didn't REALLY think I cared for you, right? Gods, I should add dumb to the list. You didn't even notice that I was cheating on you for months now."

"What?!" I screeched.

He laughed at me and said "Yeah, with multiple girls even. You wanna know why? Because you wren't enough. You never will be Thalia, and I'm done. Good luck finding another guy. So long, hope to never see you again"

And then he left me sitting on the ground in a pool of my tears alone with my thoughts and memories tainted with betrayal.

He left, and I never saw him again.

* * *

 **There we go. Here's another** **chapter as promised. Hope you guys liked it, if not please tell me why and how I could improve. Next chapter will come around Friday and will be the last from this backstory. This took me FOREVER to write, and I'm not sure i that's a good thing or a bad thing. Anyhow, I hoped you guys enjoyed reading it and if you ever have any ideas or suggestions for the story I'm all ears. Or if you just wanna tell me what Icould do better, always open for criticism.**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll who you want Percy to end up with, because it will be closing this Saturday. And.. That's all for today. Have a nice day, or evening, or night or morning wherever you are. Laters.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Thalia's POV  
How could he? How could he do this to me? It's like he did this on purpose. Become my whole world, my everything just to take it all away. I'm glad my parents went on some couples cruise ship, that way I don't have to bear their disapproving stares, mixed with pity or hear any of their fights. I hate him, I decided. I hate how he made me fall for him, hate how he poisoned my mind with memories of us, poisoned my body with alcohol and cigarets. I hate how he made me laugh and took it all away, hate the act that I told him all of my secretes, and now I'll never get them back. Most of all, I hate how I don't even hate him at all, not even a little bit. I had a million reasons to leave him, yet I still always looked for a reason not to.

I can't take this anymore. I can't be alone with my thoughts anymore, for fear that I will do something I might regret. Or won't be able to. One thing is for sure. I'm gonna make sure this will never happen again. I'm done with love. I took my phone and scrolled through my contact list, looking for his name. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if he'd want to talk to me, before dismissing that thought. I took a deep breath, summoned all of my courage and pressed 'call'.

"Uhhh... Hello?"

Nico's POV  
Man, Luke sure can pack a punch. I decided to still go to the concert, because you know, it's Green Day. I ain't wasting that. I'm glad I was planning on picking Thalia up earlier, if not I might've missed the concert. At least now I won'T have to rush, not that I could've anyway. Even though Luke wasn't giving it his all, he still did some damage on me. Now that I think about it, why didn't he give his all? I felt it, I felt the way he puled back some of his punches. I might've never been on the receiving end, but I have seen him fight, and he was definitely holding back. I wonder why?

-Line Break-

I was standing there in front of the stadium, when I saw the last person I wanted to see right now. Lucas Castellan. I'm not gonna lie, I felt some satisfaction at seeing his swollen nose. Man, Thalia sure can pack a punch too.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you." Luke said.

I just stared warily at him before answering. "And why should I believe you?"

He just sighed in return before putting his hands up. "Look, I don't have much time, before they find me okay? I'm gonna make this quick. Take care of Thalia."

"What? What do you mean you don't have much time?" I asked him incredulously.

He just sighed again, before giving me this annoyed look. "Listen to me Nico, I.. I pissed of an important and powerful guy who's asking me to do something I just can't, okay? The less you know the better. Just... Just promise me you'll take care of Thalia, okay? I know I messed up but I also know she's better of without me."

"Luke ,you're not making any sense. Please, tell me what's going on!" I said frustrated.

"I'm tired, Nico, I am. I'm tired of dragging her down with me. You were right. I was destroying her, but I fear I might have taken it too far. But maybe you can save her? Maybe you can bring her back to shore."

And for the first time in months, I saw how tired Luke looked. He used to have this mischievous sparkle in his eyes, but now they were filled with dread and fear. He didn't look 16, he looked far older than he should've.

"Luke, I don't care what you've done. But you could still fix it. Whatever it is, it's not too late. Let me help you." I pleaded, because for the first time in months, I saw the old Luke. I saw hope, hope that everything would go back to normal somehow. It was raised when I saw him hesitating, but dashed when a look of determination passed his face.

"No, it's too late for me Nico. Do yourself a favor and forget about me. This is goodbye. Tell...Tell Thalia I'm sorry. Sorry for everything, but I could never forgive myself if they got to her."

And before I could stop him, he was gone.

And I never saw him again.

-Line Break-

The concert was great, it really took my mind off of... Things. But now that it's over, Luke's words are running through my head. It just makes no sense. Maybe he was high and paranoid because of it? I'll call him in the morning and sort everything out. But for now, I'm gonna drop off this package for Thalia at her place. I feel like this should cheer her up, it isn't easy dealing with a high Luke, trust me I know. Maybe I should write something on it? Or would it seem too intimate if I did that? Nah, it'll be fine.

There, I dropped off the souvenirs I bought her from the Green Day concert, so now I could finally rest in peace for a while.

Turns out wasn't that much of a rest, or that peaceful, because somewhere in the middle of the night my phone rang. I picked it up, without looking at the caller ID and said

"Uhhh... Hello?" I asked, groggily.

"Nico, it's finally happened!" An excited voice said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Thalia, she called and asked if I could come over. I think it's finally happened. She and Luke broke up, because she probably realized that we're great together."

When I heard that, I woke up immediately, as if someone dumped a bucket of cold water over me. This is Austin. I'm speaking to Austin right now. Luke broke up with Thalia, and she called Austin?! Not me? I'm not gonna lie, that was a bitter pill to swallow. I thought that was the end of the conversation, I actually forgot I Austin was still on the other line.

"Isn't that great?" He asked excitedly.

I gulped and answered in a shaky voice. "Yeah... Great. Where are you know?"

"I'm on my way. You know, now I'm glad my parents are away for the weekend, because they definitely wouldn't have let me go to her in the middle of the night."

"Listen Austin, I'm really happy for you and all, but why did you call me?"

"Oh, right. I was wondering if you knew what I should do? You have the most experience with girls between the both of us."

Oh gods. This was it. This was the ultimate test. I could help Austin, and watch the girl of my dreams be with someone else and be a great friend. Or I could sabotage him, and get the girl myself. I have to decide, get what I want, or give make someone else happy. I decided...

"Sorry man, Thalia isn't like any girls I have experience with. You're on your own on this one."

I decided to do nothing. If they are meant to be, then they'll get there without my help. And if they really are meant to be, I'll be happy. Happy for Austin, and happy if Thalia's happy. I can say that as much as I want, but I know that deep down, this'll kill me. No, you know what? I can do this. I can do this. I'll talk to them in the morning.

Thalia's POV  
I like the way Austin looks at me. Like I'm perfection itself. It's nice, after what happened with Luke, it's nice to be loved by someone unconditionally for a change. I don't love him, I know that, I also know that I shouldn't lead him on, but... I love how he makes me feel, as if everything I do is perfect. As if I can do no wrong. Besides, I can fall in love with him, in time right?

When I went to check the mail, I saw this package with my name on it. It was wrapped hastily and sloppily in a simple brown bag with my name scribbled messily on it. I took it back inside, made sure Austin was still in my bedroom, and opened the card.

 _Hey Thals,_

 _Sorry about any problems I could've caused between you and Luke. I figured, since I couldn't bring you to the concert, I'd bring the concert to you instead. Inside this bag, you'll find all of the Green Day albums (so you can get acquainted with them. Thank me later;), a poster of the band members and a Green Day t-shirt. I hope that this is a start of your future Green Day collection and that the shirt fits you. I chose this one specifically for you. I hope that whenever you put this on, you'll think of me (not in some creepy stalker way or anything, but as in the awesome guy that introduced you to your future band!). I hope this package makes you smile, even a little. Not sure how to end this letter, so... Yeah. Bye? I guess?_

 _Nico_

I smiled and looked inside the bag and sure enough everything was in there. The albums, the poster and the t-shirt. Gods, how'd I get so lucky to have a friend like Nico? Before I could think any more, the doorbell rang. When I opened it, I was surprised to see Nico.

"Since when do you get up this early." I teased him.

He just smiled and said "It's like, noon or something."

I was surprised to hear that. Did we really sleep until noon?

"Is that.. Austin's shirt?" He asked me in a voice I can't quite place.

I looked down, and sure enough, I was wearing his shirt. "Oh, yeah. He came over last night, after Luke broke up with me."

A pained look flashed through Nico's eyes, before they went back to normal. "Oh, okay. Cool."

And suddenly thing were awkward between us.

"Do you... Do you want to come in?" I asked him, unsure.

"Oh, umm. No thanks. I've, uhhh, got some errands to run. Listen Thalia, before I go I've gotta tell you something. Austin really likes you, okay? But like, REALLY likes you, and he's a good guy, he's like my best friend. So Thalia, please don't hurt my friend." He said and then he was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Annabeth's POV  
I'm back! I've gotta admit, I really missed New York. While my time in San Fransisco was amazing, it's good to be back home. I wonder what changed while I was away? Should I call Thalia? I haven't spoken to her in 3 months.. Nah, she's probably out with Luke. I'll just call Nico instead, he'll fill me in.

-Line Break-

"Heya, goth boy. Great to see you again! Missed me? Never mind, I know you did." Is how I greeted Nico.

He just snorted and said, nonchalantly "Oh? Were you gone? Huh, didn't even notice."

I punched him in the arm before saying "So? What did I miss? Did you finally get a girl to like you?"

He faked an indignant look before saying "I'll have you know, there are plenty of girls that like me! Nico Di Angelo has a way with the females."

I laughed before he said "Nah, but seriously. Girls aren't really my thing yet. I think I'll enjoy my single years for now, before they're taken away by the shackles of marriage."

"You're future wife will be a lucky girl." I remarked dryly.

He just winked and said "You know it."

"But seriously, what did I miss while I was away?"

He looked hesitant before sighing and said "Thalia and Luke broke up."

I was genuinely surprised to hear that. I mean, I knew they were having some... difficulties but I don't know. I always though they'd work through them.

"Wow. Is she alright?" I asked concerned for my friend.

"I think so. She's going out with Austin now." I noticed that there was some bitterness in his voice, but decided not to pry, for now.

I blinked before asking "Austin? Austin as in..-"

"-Yup. My Austin. My friend Austin."

"Wow. I.. I'm confused. Why would Thalia go out with Austin? Other than the blond hair, he's nothing like Luke."

Nico got this far away look in his eyes before answering. "I'm not sure. I've kinda been giving them some space and privacy, you know. If I had to guess though, it's probably the way he looks at her. He looks at her the way she needed to be looked at, like whatever she said next was going to be right."

After that we just talked, talked about my time in San Francisco, about this new band he's 'discovered', about anything but Thalia, because I could see the pain in his eyes whenever her name was mentioned.

Nico's POV  
It was great catching up with Annabeth. She distracted me from the agony of my thoughts, even for a little while. I thought I'd be able to handle it. In a was I should be happy for Austin, for finally getting the girl. I just wished he'd chosen another girl.

I'm not gonna lie, I have been avoiding them for the past three months. I'd always let Austin's calls go to voicemail and declined whenever he suggested all three of us go out. I want to be a good friend to both of them, and I know that if I'm around them too much I'd do something stupid. Or give Austin the wrong advice. So, I decided to give them some space and time on their own, to grow as a couple. How I wish I didn't do that. Maybe if I had bothered to actually talk to Austin, tell him how I feel, maybe then all of this could've been avoided. Maybe I could've saved some people from the pain that was sure to come now.

Thalia's POV  
"...please don't hurt my friend." It's been three months since Nico told me that, and yet those words kept on swirling through my head. I looked over at Austin, sweet, innocent Austin, smoking and drinking. And suddenly, I felt disgusted of myself again. Oh gods, I did this. I did exactly what Luke did to Austin, worse even, I used Austin. I used him to drive away the thoughts of Luke, and in the process I changed him. I can't believe it. I'm despicable. I knew that I had to end this, right now. Before it was too late.

"Austin, we need to talk."

"Yeah babe? Got any more cigarets? I'm all out."

I shook my head and said "I think we need to break up."

He sat up at my words and said "Wha? You're joking, right?"

I just shook my head and said "Look at what I have done to you! You're drinking and smoking!"

"So? You do too!"

I realized that he was gonna keep finding logical reasons, reasons why w should be together so I decided to tell the truth.

"I don't love you."

He looked at me as if I smacked him and said with his lips trembling "What? You don'T love me?"

"No, I'm sorry. I thought I could, I've tried, but.. I don't love you."

"You.. you,you can't do this! You can't just make my dream come true, just to turn it into my nightmare! You know what? I don't have to take this. There are plenty of girls out there who'd love to be with me! You're just one sad, disgusting bitch." He said in a disgusted voice.

And I just looked at him in horror, I looked at what I turned him into. I took the nicest guy on earth, and turned him into... This. Slapping me would've hurt less than his words.

He looked remorseful of his words and said "Thalia, I'm sorry I didn't mean that."

I just shook my head and said "I think you should go. Please."

He hesitated, for a second, before grabbing his stuff and then left. I needed to talk to someone, and the I remembered. Annabeth's supposed to be back today! And I was happy, until I realized that I'd have to tell her every thing, every thing that happened while she was away. I'd have to face the facts and relive all of those painful memories. But, for once I was tired of running. I picked up my phone, and called Annabeth.

Nico's POV  
I was eating a sandwich, when I called Austin. It has been a while since we last talked, and I do miss him.

"Hello?"

"Hey Austin, wanna hang out?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's go to the beach, Montauk to be precise."

"The beach?"

"Yeah, like old times."

"Umm, okay, yeah sure. I'll meet you there."

That was weird. He sounded really upset. Meh, I'll ask him about it when I get to Montauk.

-Line Break-

When I arrived, I don'T know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't a smoking Austin. How much did he change while I was away?

"Thalia broke up with me."

I was shocked to hear that. Is it bad that I did feel a little glad that they broke up? Yes, yes it is. Gods what is wrong with me?

"What?"

"She broke up with me" He sniffed.

"Gods, that's awful! Did she tell you why?"

"Yeah, she said that... That she doesn't love me."

"Wow, that's harsh."

He just looked resigned when he said bitterly "Story of my life, man. In 2nd grade Sherry Stalls said that she'd rather go with Mark Thomas than me, 4th grade Mary Jane preferred Derek's painting, and now this. I'm done man. I did everything for her. I stopped reading, I started drinking and smoking, I changed so much of myself to please her. And in the end, it still wasn't enough. She was my whole world Nico, and she took it all away."

I didn't say anything. Gods, what could I say? I'm sorry? It's gonna be okay? Those are all lies, and we both knew it. So, I just sat beside him and patted him one the back. After a while, I took out my cigarets and offered him one. He gave me a beer in return.

"I have to get away from all of this."

I just stared at him intently, ready to protest, but one look in his eyes and I realized he was right. If he stays, he'll be killing himself. He needs a fresh start. Maybe we both do.

I took a long drag before asking him "Where are you gonna go?"

"My dad, he got this job offer in California. We're leaving tomorrow."

I just nodded my head and asked him "How long did you know?"

He took a long drag before answering "Three months ago. We were almost not gonna go, for me. But now..."

"Yeah, I understand. For what it's worth, I totally would've married you if I was Thalia, or gay."

He gave me a ghost of a smile and said "Buddy, if you were Thalia I probably wouldn't have fallen for her."

I smiled at him, not because of what he said, but because I just saw a glimpse of the old him.

"You'll be all right, you know that, right?"

He looked over the horizon for a while before taking a sip from his beer, saying "Yeah, I know. I'll be all right."

Somehow, this felt final. Like this was gonna be the last time I'd ever see him again. So, I decided to do something I was never really good at. I was gonna tell him how I feel.

"I liked Thalia."

"I know."

"I'm sorry, I didn't-Wait what?"

He kept looking over at the horizon, and that kinda pissed me off. He knew?

"I'm not as ignorant as you might think. I know you love her. I can see it, in the way you look at her. You gave her you Green Day albums. Before you protest, I know they were yours. They had your signature, carved on the inside. Any other person would've missed that, but not me."

"You're not mad?"

He finally looked over at me and gave me a sad smile. "She was never gonna be mine. I knew that I was walking into a mistake, but I still did. I though that maybe... Maybe I'd be enough for once."

I shook my head. "No, you are enough Austin. You just didn't find the right person."

He went back to looking over the horizon. "Thank you. I couldn't imagine how hard it must've been, letting her go for me. I hate that it was for nothing."

I sighed and said "You're my best friend. You really think I would have let a girl come in between us?"

"I hope you get her. I really do." When he told me that, I became angry, angry at the world. Angry at Luke for fucking Thalia up. Angry at Thalia, for ruining Austin. Angry at myself for being so godsdam stupid. I could've prevented this somehow. I know it. If only I could've seen the bigger picture sooner.

I took my phone, and basically told Thalia to fuck off and leave me alone. The last thing I need is for her to fuck me up too. I told her not to hurt Austin, I told her that. She still did, and now he's leaving because of it. I don't think I could EVER forgive her for this.

And then he walked away. And I never saw him again. I was left with my thoughts and memories with Luke and Austin. I always thought that we'd be in each other's lives until we were old and grey, yet here I am.

All alone.

THE END

* * *

 **JUST KIDDING. Gods, I'm sorry if I scared you! I just couldn't resist! But seriously, that ending tho! I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda proud of that one. Would've been an EPIC ending, you guys have got to admit that. This chapter is a LOT longer than I expected, to be honest with you guys. I thought that I'd be able to wrap up this backstory in like 1.5k words, but this is double of that! I wrote this, whilst having taken a couple of pain stillers, teeth problems, so I'm sorry if some things don't make sense. Anyhow, this is the end of the backstory, so the next chapter will be in the 'present' time, with Percy (Yaay, I kinda really miss him).**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because I certainly enjoyed writing it. Longest I've written so far, like more than 3.5k long. If you liked it please tell me why and if you didn't, well, then please tell me why and how I can improve. I love reading you guys' comments, reactions and opinions. Plus, I'm always open to criticism, I mean how else will I improve? Thanks to the people that reviewed already (I realized how rude I've been. I should've thanked you guys a lot sooner, you guys are AWESOME!). The next chapter will be posted sometime in the week end. I can't really tell you which day, however rest assured that there** **will be a new chapter coming out in the week end. I promise.**

 **Don'r forget to vote on the poll in my profile, because it will be closing SATURDAY! I cannot stress this enough. Or you can tell me in the reviews, or pm me, I take those** **in account. And.. I think that's all for now. Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this new chapter and have a nice day (or night, or morning, or whatever time it is wherever you are!). Ciao, for now!**

 **P.s. This is very important for the storyline, can't believe I almost forgot to tell you guys this, but Percy can't actually hear what people are thinking. So let's say it's being told in Thalia's pov, he can only hear what's happening and dialogues, but he can't actually hear what she thinks. This is very important because that means he doesn't know that Nico loved Thalia back then. Those thought were added by me to give you guys an insight to how the think and feel about certain things. It's to make things clearer and easier for you and me.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson**

Percy's POV  
"Wow. Oh wow! Dude... I.. I don't even know what to say!" I exclaimed. Holy crap on a cracker, I can't believe it. No wonder everyone's been warning me about Thalia, I mean, she's got a, uhhhm, 'colorful' past.

"There is nothing to say. It's all in the past now, it doesn't matter." He retorted in a bored tone.

I just looked at him disbelievingly. "What? Don't you even miss hanging out with Thalia even a little bit?"

"No. Drop it Perce." He said in a warning tone. Yeah, we can talk about this another time.

"Besides, shouldn't you get ready?"

"What? Why should I get ready?" I asked, confused.

"For your date with Annabeth of course!"

I blushed and sputtered for a while before finally finding the ability to make a proper sentence. "Okay, first and for all it's not a date! Second and for all it's just a group project."

"Uh huh. Your blush tell differently Perce. My boy Percy's got a cruush!"

"Shut up."

"But seriously, she's a good girl. I think you two would be great together."

I didn't say anything, instead I gave an exasperated sigh and opted for getting ready. I really don't want to be late. Annabeth didn't really seem like the forgiving type. At the rate I'm going, I think I'm gonna make it in time!

-Line Break-

"You're late." Iiiiiis how I was greeted at the Chase household, by the one and only Annabeth Chase. She wore an oversized pullover with a messy bun and some jeans, and I've got to admit: She never looked better.

I just scratched behind my neck and said "Uhh, yeah... Sorry. I had a, umm, 'rough' morning."

She smirked and said "I bet. First hangover ever I presume."

I blushed and sputtered for a bit before finally finding my voice "You don't know that! For all you know I was late because I uhh, I was.. Saving a baby! From a, uhhh, a fire!" Yeah, it made more sense in my head.

She laughed, and I won't lie, I wouldn't mind hearing that laugh more often. I felt my heart speed up at the sound.

"Suure Perce. I'll believe that when you get some more muscles, cause right now it doesn't seem like you could even lift a baby!" She teased. Ohh, she's playing a dangerous game! And I do too have muscles, they're just not that... prominent.

I blushed (traitor body) before getting a brilliant idea. I lifted an eyebrow and said "Oh yeah? If I'm so weak, then why can I do this!"

And with that I lifted her up, bridal style and entered her house. She screamed at first, I bet she didn't expect it, before hitting me on the chest.

"Put me down!"

"Not until you admit that I can too pick up a baby!"

She heaved a dramatic sigh and said sarcastically "Oh, great and strong Perseus, I apologize profusely for ever doubting thy strength! Obviously thou could pick up an infant, with thy bulging muscles."

I laughed and set her down on the couch and said "Hell yeah I could. I could pick up like... 15 babies with these babies!" while flexing at my biceps.

She shook her head and said "I think might need a magnifying glass, because I barely see anything there."

I gave her a mock hurt look and said "You mean... you mean you didn't mean it?You DON'T think I have bulging muscles? I am hurt, Annabeth, HURT! I don't think this is working out."

"More like YOU'RE not working out." Oooh, burn. I'll admit, I might've walked into that one.

"Hey! I'll have you know I do work out."

"Uh-huh. Suure you do Perseus."

"Okay, first and for all, don't call me that. Second and for all I do! I go swimming, like every weekend. Sometimes even in the beach."

"While you were swimming there, did you happen to get seaweed in your brain."

"Well, there was this one time when I was eight and looking for Nemo."

She laughed once more, gods I swear for a moment there I was just staring at her, that laugh was just... Have you ever heard someone's laugh and you're just like "Yep. That's the laugh I'd want to hear for the rest of my life." I shook my head at that thought and instead opted for wearing an offended look.

"Oh gods, are you for real?"

I looked down at my body, patted it and said sarcastically "Nope. I'm just a figment of your imagination. I'm your dream guy, literally."

She snorted and... blushed? Before I could look into that, she stood up and went to the table. She looked over her shoulder and said "Enough kidding around. We've got work to do."

I groaned and said "Do we have to?"

She smiled and said "It's kind of the reason why you're here in the first place, Seaweed Brain." She muttered muttered the last part quietly, but I still heard it.

"Seaweed Brain?"

She blushed, (I saw it this time!) and said "Yeah, because sometimes I wonder if you have seaweed in there instead of a brain!" while knocking on my head.

"Oh yeah? Well, you're just a... uhhh... Meanie?"

She held in her laughter and repeated "Meanie? Wow, didn't know you were capable of such sailor talk Seaweed Brain. You just hurt my feeling."

I blushed, once more, gods what is it with me today? How can one person make me blush so much? "Yeah, yeah. I doubt you have any feelings. Just you wait, I'm gonna find you degrading nickname, and when I do you'll be sorry!"

She laughed and so did I, even I have to admit that that was a weak finish.

"Seriously though, we should probably get started. Or at least find a topic for our project." She said.

-Line Break_

"Okay, what about Poseidon. He's cool."

She made a face and said "Poseidon? Really?"

"Umm, yeah. Why? Who would you choose?"

"Athena of course! She's the wisest of them all!"

I looked at her incredulously before exclaiming "Athena? Really? More like the boringest of them all!"

"Boringest? Really?"

"Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em."

"Then you obviously need glasses."

"Not my fault you can't handle the truth."

At this point we were face to face, glaring at each other. Any other time I probably would've backed off, but for some reason I didn't. Gods, she's so stubborn! I mean, Athena? Seriously?

"Why do you want to do our project about Athena anyway?"

"Duh, because she's the best goddess ever. She's wise, she knows how to fight, she's righteous-"

"-I think you chose Athena, because you're a... Wise Girl!"

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"No! It's your degrading nickname!"

"Wise Girl?"

I nodded and said "Yup. Wise Girl."

She just gave me an exasperated sigh and muttered fondly "Seaweed Brain."

I grinned at her and proposed an idea. "How about we do about their rivalry, and then explain how they put that aside to work together?"

Her face lit up at my idea and she said, excitedly "You know, that's no half bad. Maybe you do have a brain after all!"

I realized that that's as close as she'll get to complimenting me so I just smirked and said "Sorry? I didn't hear you? Did THE Annabeth Chase just compliment me?"

"Don't push it." She said in a warning tone.

"You liike me." I teased.

She turned her head, (to hide a blush maybe?) and said "I'm warning you Seaweed Brain."

"Okay, okay. Got it."

She nodded her head and said "Good."

I cleared my throat and said "You didn't let me finish: I got it, that you liiiiike me."

And with that she pushed my chair, causing me to fall backwards and hit my head. Hard.

"Ow, okay. That's not fair."

She just gave me an innocent look and said "Did I do that?"

I glared at her and muttered some choice words under my breath.

She tsked, while bringing me to the sofa and said "Tut, tut. Such language is unbecoming for a young man such as yourself."

"Only in the presence of a lady." I retorted.

She raised an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

"You'd probably kick me butt." I admitted. Our faces were getting suspiciously closer. Maybe I was leaning in, or she was, maybe both of us, all I knew was that I didn't really mind and apparently neither did she.

"You know I'd kick your butt."

I laughed at faces were definitively getting closer now it was like we were under a spell or something. Just a few more inches and...

Right at that moment someone rang the doorbell and the spell was broken. We both jumped away from each other, blushing. She ran to see who was there and left me on the couch. I blinked and wondered what the hell happened there?

* * *

 **There we go, another chapter done as promised. It's not a long one, but it took all I got to write this. I've got this like tooth problem, hurts like hell, but I did promise a new chapter. A promise is a promise. The next chapter won't come out till probably Wednesday, hope you guys don't mind too much. Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter, if so please tell me what and why you enjoyed, if not then I'd love to hear what you think I can do to improve your reading experience. Thank you guys for all of your reviews, they really motivate me to write more.**

 **It seems like we have a very perceptive reader! I didn't think anyone would get those references, to be honest. I started writing** **this story when I was rematching HIMYM, so obviously I couldn't resist adding a couple of references here and there. And yes, in case you were wondering, I used Uncle Barney, because Teds kid's name was Luke. I just couldn't pass up on that opportunity. You've got a good eye 18brunojess!**

 **For the Guest that reviewed and said how the POV's make no sense: Where were you when I started this? Dude, you make an excellent point, and I wished I thought of that before! I could've gotten further along in the story by now. Damn, now I fell hella stupid! It's too late now, I guess. Live and learn. I appreciate the advise and I wish I thought of that before I finished writing their past.**

 **As you guys probably noticed, if not you're about to, the poll has officially closed. I won't tell you guys the answer yet. I'm planning on adding a couple of twists and turns before the winner gets revealed, to make the story a little bit more interesting and to keep you guys wondering. So stay tuned, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Annabeth's POV  
I was still reeling from the almost maybe kiss with Percy when I opened the door, which is my only explanation for even forgetting that Thalia was coming over today.

"Umm, are you okay?" My friend asked me concernedly.

I dearly hoped my cheeks weren't as red as they felt at the moment, however I fear that luck was not by my side. It never was. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" I retorted.

She just gave me a weird look before answering. "Because in all of the time I've ever known you, never did you wear such a... dazed look. And are you blushing?"

She brought her face closer to examine mine, but I didn't give her the chance. Lord knows that's the last thing I needed right now. She'd never let me live it down if she ever found out I was blushing, even worse if she ever found out why I was blushing.

"Of course not! What are you doing here anyway?"

She gave me another weird look when she replied. "Because we made plans to go to the movies, remember?"

I would have slapped myself right then and there if it weren't for the situation at hand. I fully give Percy the blame for my momentarily memory lapse. Gods, that Seaweed Brain! Wait... Percy! He's still here! Oh my Gods! What am I gonna do.

Seemingly ignorant of my internal panic, Thalia told me, a little gleefully might I add, "I'm gonna assume that, and trust me this sounds completely insane and I never expected it, you *gasp* forgot we had plans today?"

I hated the triumphant look she gave me. You see, in the past I always gave Thalia a hard time whenever she forgot we had plans, so of course she'd be happy that I for once forgot we had plans. It's all that Seaweed Brain's fault, if you ask me!

Taking my answer as a yes she decided to 'show me mercy' and said (still in that infuriating gleeful voice!) "I'm gonna give you a couple of minutes to get ready. I'll just wait in the living room."

Had I been thinking properly, I probably would've insisted that Thalia come with me because even though he was the reason for my state right now, I forgot that Percy was in there. It was only when I was washing up, did I come to this conclusion. Oh dear, I hope Thalia behaves, thinking back on all of their previous encounters.

Percy's POV _(While Annabeth went to open the door)  
_ Did I... Did I seriously almost kiss Annabeth?! What was I thinking? Was I even thinking? No... probably not. As gifted as I am at school, which by the way was the only reason I wasn't flunking right now with Nico as my newly appointed 'life-coach', I'm an absolute idiot with anything concerning girls. Oh, sure Nico taught me a thing or two about them, and that did help (like A LOT), I still find myself having moments where I stumble trough conversations with the opposite-sex.

I sighed and for once, thought about the consequences that I might have had to face if I HAD kissed Annabeth. It's not that I don't like Annabeth, that's ridiculous. I mean, yeah, sometimes she really could be a know-it-all, and I certainly could do without her trying to be the best all the time, and it does annoy me whenever she constantly has to argue with me about something I say...

Who am I kidding? She drives me absolutely crazy. And yet, despite all of this, despite all of the things that I can't stand about her, I also think that she wouldn't be her without those qualities. I sort of enjoy arguing with her all the time. I wouldn't want her any other way. And there's no denying that it's a challenge getting her to smile or laugh, but when you succeed, I tell ya it's worth it.. I know we've only spoken for 2 days max. and yet. I'd swim trough oceans and climb mountains if there was even a small, minuscule chance that would make her smile. She's just a little uptight, but I think if I spent little more time with her, become her friend, she could learn how unwind a little bit. Maybe that's what we're supposed to be. Friends.

And yet, why did I feel unsatisfied at being just her... Friend? I realized I was being utterly ridiculous, I mean we've only known in each other, what? One day! One day! We've got a lot of time to figure out what we're supposed to be. And there's Thalia to consider.

Thalia. I've learned so much about her, in one morning. I know so much about her, and yet. She barely knows anything about me. That seems a little unfair now that I think about it. I should fix that. I can't really explain what it is that's got me so interested in one seemingly insignificant girl. Statistically speaking there are loads of girls out there, millions in New York alone. So why did this ONE girl manage to grab my attention? What's so special about her? The fact that I didn't have an answer to that really intrigued and scared me. It's like she's lit a fire inside of me, and it both scares and fascinates me.

I leaned back and groaned. Before I moved here, my life was simple. I knew who I was and what I wanted. Now... I'm not so sure. Sometimes I seriously wonder if it would've been easier if I was gay. With my luck, probably not.

I was so focused on my internal musings, that I didn't notice that I wasn't alone in the room. Or that my musings weren't completely internal.

"If you are gay, I know this nice bar you should visit." Said a voice that just made the fire inside of me burn brighter. Painfully so. Or maybe that's just because I'm afraid of what happened (or in this case didn't) happen last night.

Instead of letting her get me all flustered (and letting her know how I was internally sweating), I just lifted one hand from my eyes to get a good look at her before saying "Oh? Is it the same one that Nico went to? If so, I'd like to have the same dancer."

She laughed so hard, there were tears coming from her eyes before answering incredulously. "Oh my gods! He actually told you!? I thought he'd never tell another living soul. How'd you manage to do the impossible, Jackson?"

I gave her a roguish smile, or at least what I HOPED was a roguish smile, and said  
"You'll find miss Grace that I have my ways. I'm all about doing the impossible."

She gave me a challenging smile in return and said "Is that so?"

I raised my brow in a silent question.

"Well then, I challenge you to do the impossible. I challenge you to... Come with hang out with me and Annabeth."

I gave her a confused look after she said that. I mean, that didn't seem that impossible. In fact, I think I'd even enjoy that. When I was about to tell her that, she continued as if she intentionally paused for effect, she probably did.

"And NOT argue with her."

My eyes widened at that. "What?" I wondered at that moment if she knew that we argued a lot, or if Annabeth just argues with everyone. Somehow, the thought that she's like this with everyone, made me frown.

"You heard me. Unless... You were all talk before." she said slyly.

Her tone grabbed my attention and spurred me to do what I've always done. Speak before thinking. "Challenge accepted."

She just smiled triumphantly at me. "Excellent."

And suddenly I realized what I just agreed to. Not only did I agree to join them on their 'girls-night-out' or whatever, no, no, no, I'm not allowed to argue with Annabeth the whole time. Now THAT'S impossible. It's literally all we do. It's all we did today. We almost made no progress because of it. It's like I annoy her or something. That's right! Me! Annoy anybody! Absurd!

"How about we discuss the wager?" She said, jarring me from my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You know, what's a challenge when there's nothing at stake. Am I right."

I nodded, that's true I guess.

"If you manage to survive the night without arguing with Annabeth, then... Then we'll be friends!"

I perked up at that. To be Thalia's friend! That's a dream come true. Well... Closer to the dream, but still.. That would be a great progress!

"However... If you do end up arguing with her about something, even something small like which flavor popcorn we should get, then..."

She gave me a wicked smile before finishing the sentence "... then you'll hang out one night with my, no arguments AND no questions asked."

While the penalty of losing didn't seem that bad I remembered Nico's advice: _NEVER let Thalia choose what to do!_ I supposed letting her choose what to do WITH no questions asked could only mean trouble. And yet. Even though I knew what the smart thing was, even though I always did the smart thing and avoided trouble, even though I knew that this would be a bad choice, I thought back on another advice Nico told me: _Bad choices... Make GREAT stories._

I made my mind up then. I was confident that I could do it! I mean, I'm not THAT annoying! Right?

"You're on!"

We shook hands on it.

"I've got to know though why?"

"What?"

"Why would you even make this challenge?"

She just shrugged non-noncommittally and said "Either way I get something out of it and a great show."

Then she gave me this wicked look and said "Don't think I didn't hear you guys argue from outside. I'll enjoy choosing our activity together. I'm thinking you'll be blindfolded beforehand"

It was at that moment, that I was filled with dread and realized the horrible mistake I just made, and seriously made me reconsider how I make my life choices.

What have I done?

* * *

 **Voila! Another** **chapter, another step closer to the end. As promised, a new chapter. I'm not particularly proud of it, but it's not my worse work. I hope you guys liked it, if not please tell me why and how I can make your reading experience more enjoyable. I'll admit, this is a filler chapter more than anything else. Schoolwork combined with my a dental abscess has taken a toll on me I'm afraid, so I can't guarantee when the next chapter will come out and if there'll be another one after that. I'll do my best to finish two new chapters by the end of the week, but I can't make any promises. Sorry if that disappoints you guys, I hope you do understand tho. Thanks for the reviews, they do motivate me to write, and thanks for even reading this story, let alone make it this far. I hope you guys have a nice day, night, morning, evening, whatever time it is wherever you are! I'll see guys in the next one!**

 **Bye!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Annabeth's POV  
When I came out of my en suite bathroom, I was greeted by the sight of my best friend sitting on my bed with a bunch of clothing articles, looking at them with a critical eye.

"What are you doing?" asked.

She ignored my question and just answered my question with a question.

"What do you think of Percy Jackson?"

That question threw me off for a second, because honestly I was trying to avoid thinking about him. He brings up confusing feelings, which I hate. I hate being confused.

When I didn't answer immediately, she looked up and repeated the question in a bored manner.

I decided to just play it cool and said "Nothing in particular. He's definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed though."

Her stare bored trough me when she asked "So, do you like him?"

I sputtered and denied and desperately hoped I wasn't blushing. "What? No! Of course not! I barely even know him! Why would you think that?!"

"Oh, no reason. So you don't like him then?"

"Yes! No! I don't know? Why are you asking me?"

She gave me a wicked smile and said "Because you're about to go on a date with him, so dress nice."

"What!" I shouted.

"Well... I will be there. So, you guys better behave on this date." She admitted with a wink

I blushed and denied. "That doesn't count as a date."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." I affirmed. "It's just a group of friends, hanging out."

She smirked and said "You better tell him that, he thinks it's a date. Why, I bet he'll just agree on everything with you today because he thinks so."

I just looked at her skeptically and said "Suure he will Thals, sure he will."

She shrugged her shoulders and said "Don't believe me? Guess you'll just have to see. Wanna slap bet it?"

I was feeling very confident about this, which is the only reason I agreed.

"Okay, slap bet it is."

"Let's make this official then. I, Thalia Grace, bet you, Annabeth Chase, that Percy Jackson will agree on everything you say or do today."

We shook hands on it, sealing the bet.

Percy's POV  
Okay, okay, okay. Just don't annoy Annabeth, for the love of god, don't. Remember what Nico went trough last time he let Thalia choose anything at all.

I shuddered at the thought and wondered if it was too late to back down, when Annabeth descended the stairs.

My eyes widened at the sight of her, my heart suddenly started beating faster and my palms started sweating. Huh, wonder if I'm getting sick or something? What's up with that?

Before I could start panicking over an illness I might or might not be suffering from, Annabeth said "So, Thalia told me that you were hanging out with us today?"

I blushed (why did I blush?!) and stuttered "Oh... Umm... Yeah, if.. If it's okay with you?"

She looked at me weirdly, (and why wouldn't she?), and said "Uhm, Yeah, it's cool."

And then there was silence. It felt like that silence went on for hours, but was probably for only a second or two, until Thalia broke it. "How about we all get in the car and go to the movies, yeah?"

I don't know how, but for a second there I forgot everything except Annabeth. It was like there was just me and her. What's that all about? Wow, I must really want to be friends with her.

-Line Break-

We decided, well the girls did I couldn't really deny them (more specifically Annabeth), to take my car to the movies. Unfortunately they also got to be DJ, I really hate this bet. Right now I swear that they're putting heavy metal on purpose. They know I hate that, don't ask me how. They could've put rock, punk, grunge, but noooooo. They just had to be in a 'heavy death metal mood' today. I hate Thalia. I hate this bet.

Thalia's POV  
I love this bet! If I get Annabeth to ask, Perce will have to agree unless he wants to face the consequences. I love this, so much. I really feel like a puppet master right now.

We arrived and were wondering which movie to watch. I decided to see how far Pery is willing to let this bet go.

"Hey Annabeth, let's watch 'The Bye Bye Man'!" I said, watching Percy's reaction.

I was not disappointed. I saw his eyes widen and noticed him perspiring more. Annabeth saw this too and said "Yeah! I heard it was really scary! What about you Perce? Wanna see it?"

Anyone with two eyes could see he didn't, but instead of disagreeing he just asked Annabeth "Umm... Annabeth you're sure you want to watch that movie?"

When she nodded her head, he gulped and said "Well... If you want to see it, then so do I."

Annabeth's eyes widened and I smirked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, Perce you sure you want to watch this movie?" She asked him.

He tried looking confident when he answered "Yeah. Horror movies, that's my shit. Blood, gore, nightmares, love it."

I put my arms around them and said "Great! The Bye Bye Man it is! Say Percy, you wouldn't mind paying, would you?"

He scowled at me and was about to protest until I said to Annabeth "What do you think Annabeth? Do you think Perce should pay?"

She saw what I was doing and decided to play along "Yeah, I think that's a great idea. Don't you Perce?"

He kept on looking between the both of us, before looking defeated and said "Yeah.. So do I. A splendid idea in fact. I'm gonna go pay for them, then."

When he was gone, Annabeth pushed me and said "You are so evil."

I laughed and said "Like you're one to talk! I know you're enjoying this too, don't pretend you don't!"

"Well... It is kinda fun seeing his reactions."

"Hell yeah it is! Can't wait till the movie!"

Percy's POV

"Three tickets for 'The Bye Bye Man' please." I asked defeatedly.

"Percy?" A familiar voice asked.

I looked up and was greeted with Leo's face.

"Leo!"

"What's up hermano?"

"Nothing much, just gonna watch a movie. Alone. Yep. All on my own."

"Then why did you need three tickets?"

"Did I say three? I mean to say..one." If he found out I was with Thalia AND Annabeth he'd never let me live it down.

He looked at me skeptically before gaining a look of realization. "Oh. OH. I see. You tell me where these guys are, and I'm gonna send security for them."

I stared at him confusedly and said "What are you talking about?"

"You're being mugged for movie tickets, right?"

"What? No! How... Why? Why would anyone mug me, for movie tickets?"

He just shrugged his shoulders and said 2You'd be surprised how often it happens, bro."

"Ummm, okay. I'm not even gonna ask."

"It's probably best you don't." He admitted.

"So, I'm just gonna, go then. Yeah, see you around"

"If you want company, my shift ends in a couple of minutes."

I shook my head and said "Uh, nope. Thanks bro but I'm good."

"No, I insist! No bro left alone, bro."

"No, I'm fine. You don't have to do this, Leo."

"No, no, I insist. It can be like a tradition between us, you know? Movie-bros. We'll work on that name."

I realized there was no way he'd let me go unless I tell him the truth. Dam. Goodbye peace.

"That sounds great Leo, but I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I lied. I'm not here alone."

He gained a mischievous look and said "You're not? That's my boy! On a date! With who? Is it Thalia?"

"It's not a date, not really. I'm just hanging out with her and Annabeth."

He raised his eyebrows and said "Two girls at once? Respect bro." And then he raised his fist. "You must bump that!"

I knew from experience that he wasn't gonna drop it until I did, so I bumped his fist and then said "It's not like that. We're all just hanging out."

"But you were getting tickets for a scary movie. YOU hate scary movies."

"It was two against one."

He gained an understanding look and said "Say no more. Two girls, yeah good luck with that bro. Here's a tip, sit between them, so if they get scared you got two girls huggung you by the side." And then he handed me the tickets.

"Thanks, for everything I guess."

He winked and said "Have a nice time bro."

I hope I do.

* * *

 **This was definitely a filler chapter. No doubt about it. I am so sorry for this.** **This fells, by far, like the worst work I have done so far. I've written and rewritten this chapter about a million times and I just can't get it right. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I really do. The next chapter will come out tomorrow. I promise you, you guys deserve that after this chapter. I really have nothing else to say. Except I'm sorry, because once just wasn't enough.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson**

Thalia's POV  
While Percy was taking forever to get those tickets, I decided to talk to Annabeth. Something has been bothering me, ever since I asked her something.

"Do you think Percy's dumb?"

She was startled by my question, no doubt off in her own world before I spoke.

"What?"

"Do you think Percy's dumb?" I repeated.

"No, of course not."

"So, why did you say he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed then?"

"Did I?"

"Yeah, when I asked you what you thought of him."

"I.. must've mistaken him for someone else then."

"So you lied?" I knew she said that to change the subject, but this time I'm not gonna let her off the hook. No, no, it's time we start being honest with each other, dam it!

"No! Yes! I don't know, that's just an automatic answer whenever you ask me about a guy!"

"But, it doesn't apply here?"

"I don't know! He never talks about his grades, and he doesn't seem particularly smart to me. You have classes with him, you tell me!"

I shrugged. "Don't look at me. He almost never puts his hand up in class, and I don't know his grades."

I saw her scowl at that. I realized something.

"It bugs you that you don't know wether he's really smart or just acting dumb, doesn't it?"

She looked at me with fake offended look.

"Of course not! Why should I care?"

Oh my gods. She likes him. She really likes him! Now that I think about it, they could be cute together. Really cute, in fact. In the past I would've teased her mercilessly for this, but now I don't think she realizes this herself. I don't think she knows that she likes him. That's it, that's how I can make it up to her for practically abandoning her for Luke all those years ago. I know she says she forgives me, but I know Annabeth. Some piece of her still resents me for it, and I don't blame her. I was thinking of pursuing him a little before, but now..

I looked at her and said "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because YOU hate not knowing something."

"It just pisses me off, you know. When we were working together, I saw how he worked. He was structured, his notes were organized. But then when you talk to him, it's like sometimes he downplays his intelligence or something. It's just frustrating. He's just frustrating."

Percy's POV  
"Who's just frustrating?" I asked.

When they heard my voice, they both jumped. I'm not gonna lie, it kinda felt good scaring them a little, they did make me pay for the tickets after all. And if I get to know some juicy secretes while scaring them, all the better.

"Who's just frustrating?" I repeated.

Annabeth turned around and said "No one, just some guy in my class."

"Is it someone I know?"

The girls shared a look before Thalia answered "Yeah, pretty well actually."

Now that peaked my interest. "Hmm, is it Nico?"

They shook their heads. "We're not telling you Perce." Annabeth said while walking away.

"Why not?" I asked, and whatever anyone tells you I asked not whined! Men don't whine.

Thalia looked over her shoulder and said with a mysterious smile "You'll have to find that one out for yourself Kelp brains."

Girls. Always so mysterious. I knew I should've taken up Leo's invite to that party. So, with great reluctance I followed the girls to our seats.

Once we were there, however we all realized something. Something very important.

"We forgot the snacks." Thalia announced.

I didn't get a good felling when she said that. That feeling definitely got stronger when she shared a look with Annabeth and then looked at me.

"Percy, would you be a dear and go get us some snacks?" Annabeth asked me sweetly.

I was about to argue, until I saw Thalia's face. It was a look of triumph. The bet! Gods, I was REALLY starting to hate that bet. I took a deep breath, plastered a smile on my face and said "Sure! I'd love to. Anything specific?"

"Surprise us." Annabeth answered.

I sighed and got up. By this rate, I wouldn't have any money left.

-Line Break-

I was heading for the snack bar when I suddenly bumped into someone.

"Hey watch it!" A feminine and strangely familiar voice exclaimed.

I was about to apologize before I heard that Instead I scowled and protested. "YOU'RE the one that bumped into ME lady!"

"Who you calling lady, boy!" I looked up at me aggressor, and was greeted with a beautiful face with dark tanned skin, chocolate-brown hair that was unevenly cut and most importantly,eyes that seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope, going from brown to blue to green.

"Piper!" I exclaimed in surprise.

She blinked her eyes at me before smirking and saying "Actually, if I remember correctly you are forced to call me either Mistress or My Queen or her Awesomeness, since you lost the one and only Beer-Pong Queen, me!"

I groaned and said "You're not serious right now, right? That wasn't serious, right?"

When I saw her deadpan look I groaned once more.

"I'm waiting, peasant. In fact, because you made me wait I expect you to bow."

My eyes widened at that. "You're not serious right now." I stammered.

She just raised her right eyebrow. You're probably wondering why I don't just run, or you know, leave. Jason told me that Piper's been following Krav Maga classes since she was 10. If you didn't know, Krav Maga is a gorilla-style street fighting designed by the Israel Defense Force. Which basically means, she can kick my ass 25 different ways before I hit the ground. And from what Jason told me, she probably would.

I sighed, picked up whatever was left of my dignity (it wasn't much) and bowed. "I apologize your Awesomeness, I am but a simple peasant. I do not know manners nor am I worthy for even being in your presence. I hope you accept this poor, sick peasant's apology." I said, sarcastically, because you know I do still have some pride.

She laughed in response and said "So now your not only filthy, but also poor AND sick?"

I shrugged my shoulders and said "Yeah, I don't have great hygiene or money management skills."

She just shook her head and said "Only you Jackson, only you."

"So, what are you doing here at the movies? You're not on your own, are you?" I asked her.

"Nah, meeting up with a friend."

I wiggled my eyebrows at that. "A friend huh. Is it a... * gasp * Gentleman caller? Has her Awesomeness been approached by a Gentleman with the intentions of courting you?" I said drastically.

"No! Shut up! None of your business."

My eyes widened at that. So she is here with someone! "Oh my gods, you are on a date! Who is it? Is it Matt? Mark?... Leo?" I whispered the last part quietly.

She started blushing, until she heard Leo's name. When she did, she punched me. Really really hard.

"Ow!"

"No! I'm not on a date, and I'll do much worse if you keep asking. And Leo? Seriously? The guy's practically my brother, it'd just be sick and wrong to date at this point!"

"Aha! So you ARE on a date." The minute I said that, I knew I shouldn't have. I should really invest in a filter, for my brain, because this is out of control right now.

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!" I screamed, while I was running away from Piper.

"You will be!" She roared at me.

Oh crap. I seriously should think it trough before I open my big fat mouth. I was starting to get tired.

When we reached the snack bar, I stopped running to catch my breath and gasped out "Time out. Time out. I'm sorry, please don't kill me."

She just grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, brought my face closer and said threateningly "If you tell ANYONE I was here, I'm gonna kill you."

I just nodded my head and said "Okay, okay. My lips are sealed."

And then she dropped me, leaving me drenched in sweat. Man, I should work out more.

"So, what about you Jackson. What are you doing here? Got a hot date?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I scoffed and said "Yeah, right. Me? Get a hot date? Get real!"

"I don't know, I know a couple of girls who most probably wouldn't be completely opposed to the idea of dating you." She said, 'helpfully'.

"Wow, 'most probably wouldn't be opposed to the idea of dating me'? Well, I should just go ahead and marry those girls, 'cause it sounds like a match made in heaven." I replied sarcastically.

"So, if you're not here on a date, then what are you doing?"

"Girls night with Annabeth and Thalia."

"But... You're not a girl."

I looked down, then back up and said "What gave it away? It's the shoes, isn't it? I knew I should've worn the red pumps! They would've completed the whole outfit!"

She gave me a once over, looked at the black ripped jeans I was wearing, with the white muscle shirt and black hoodie and said "Yeah, it was the shoes."

Now that she was here, I decided to use her expertise.

"Hey Pipes what does Annabeth like to eat? As a movie snack, you know."

"She loves Nerds. It's her favorite snack."

"Nerds, huh, weirdly fitting if you ask me."

She laughed and said "Go figure. She's also practically addicted to Coke, anything with caffeine really."

"Okay, Nerds and Coke, got it. Anything else?"

She looked thoughtful for a while before answering "Whatever you do, don't get sugary popcorn, she hates that shit with a passion. Salty is the way to go."

"Okay, thanks! Good luck on your date. Use protection." I said, while she was walking away.

When I turned my back on her I was hit by a brush and heard her say "Shut up! Don't forget what I told you, because I WILL kill you if I have to!"

Girls I thought exasperatedly.

Annabeth's POV  
What's taking him so long, I was wondering. He's been gone for 10 minutes now. The movie's gonna start any minute now.

"Relax Annie, I'm sure he's fine. Don't you know worrying is pointless? I'm sure he's safe." Thalia told me.

"Okay, first and for all don't call me that, and secondly I am relax! I'm completely relaxed even!" I said.

She just eyed me skeptically and said sarcastically "Yeah, sure you are... Annie!"

I just sighed and shook my head at her.

"Why are you even so worried? It's not like he's a troublemaker or anything, trust me I know all about troublemakers."

"Trouble, has a way of finding him." I said, thinking back on a couple of stories he told me. Like the time he accidentally shot a cannon to his bus, or when he made his class drop into a shark habitat.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. I'd worry more about the movie. He seems like a screamer to me, I don't know why. He just gives off, this vibe you know."

"Maybe he'll surprise you." I said, but even I didn't have much hope for that.

-Line Break-

We were talking about random stuff when Percy arrived.

"Here you go Thals, I got you a coke, some popcorn and nachos, because you seemed like the kind of person who'd eat nachos during a movie."

"Right you are Perce, right you are." She said greedily, before snatching those mentioned snack articles.

"And for you miss Chase, I got some Nerds, SALTY popcorn and a coke."

I was surprised and touched, not many people knew I liked Nerds. Too many jokes made around that, when they found out.

"Thanks Percy. How did you know I liked slaty popcorn? And Nerds?"

He smiled at me and I swear I felt my heart skip a beat, wonder if I've been overworking myself?

"Lucky guess, I guess." He said.

Then the movie started and all hell broke loose.

Just kidding, obviously nothing like that happened. But the movie WAS actually scary. The weird part though? Percy didn't seem all that scared. He actually seemed to be enjoying himself, because ever since Thalia and I got jump scared and hid in his arms, he's been smiling dopily. What a weirdo. I wonder why he's smiling like that. Or more like, WHO'S making him smile like that.

* * *

 **Boom! As promised, another chapter, another day. To the reviewer that remarked Annabeth's 'mistake' well done, you've got a good eye! Wasn't sure if** **anyone was gonna catch that. In case you were wondering, that was on purpose. It wasn't just some mistake I made because I forgot Percy's smart. He is, he just doesn't really show it off, which means not a lot of people know it either. Nico does, but he doesn't know how smart Percy really is. I'm thinking, it'll be this big dramatic reveal, where everyone will be all like 'Whaa?' and he'll be all like 'Yeah, I'm smart. Deal with it!' I'm still working on the details.**

 **Once more, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, if so tell me why, if not.. Also tell me why. I love hearing from you guys, and love answering you guys even more. I'm thinking the next chapter will be either tomorrow or Wednesday, I'm still planning stuff out. Wednesday the latest, that's for sure. That will be all for now, so thank you to the people that have reviewed so far, and thank you to the people that will review in the future. You guys are the real MVP's. Ciao for now!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Percy's POV  
It has been three months since 'girls-night out' and I've got to say, I will love and cherish those three months. They have been awesome. Oh, and guess what? I picked up smoking! Yeah, I all happened on girls-night out.

" _Are you guys.. Smoking?!" I asked them._

" _Yeah, why? You got a problem with that Kelp for brains?" Thalia retorted._

 _I was about to say 'Umm... Yeah! It's stupid and disgusting!' until Annabeth just had to open her mouth._

" _I personally enjoy smoking. It relaxes me. What do you think about smoking Percy?" She casually asked me._

 _Damn. If I disagree, it'll start an argument, if I agree I might have to actually smoke. After weighing my options in my head, I decided that smoking would be far better for my health than letting Thalia choose what to do._

 _So, I swallowed my pride and said "Umm... I personally haven't *ahem* tried smoking yet, so I uhh don't think it would be wise of me to have an opinion about it. But if you enjoy it, well then it can't be all bad, I guess." Phew, there, that seems believable enough._

" _So, that means you'd be open to trying it then?" Annabeth said with a knowing smirk._

 _I gulped and said "If an opportunity presented itself, then I suppose I wouldn't be in a position to refuse." I have a bad feeling about this, especially when Thalia and her shared this conspiratorial grin._

" _Oh really?" Thalia said._

" _Ye.. Yes. Really." I answered._

 _Annabeth took out the cigarette in her mouth and held it out to me._

" _Then how about putting your money where your mouth is, Jackson."_

" _Or in this case, a cigarette." Thalia quipped in the background._

 _Knowing had no other choice, I accepted the cigarette and stared at it for a while. This felt strangely intimate. Like I'm about to share some big secret with Annabeth. Maybe it's because this cigarette was in her mouth. This cigarette touched HER mouth. It would kinda be like kissing. I forgot about everyone and everything around me and kept on staring at the cigarette, letting my thoughts wander._

 _What if she's doing this on purpose? What if this is a sign that she wants my mouth on her mouth? What if the cigarette is a metaphor for her mouth, and thus by offering it to me, she's basically saying that she wants to kiss me?! Yeah... I'm overthinking this. What is it with me? Why is either I overthink things, or I just don't think about it?_

 _I must've been staring at the cigarette longer than necessary because my thoughts were interrupted by a surprisingly soft sounding Annabeth. "You know, Percy, if you don't want to smoke then that's okay. You shouldn't do anything you don't want to."_

 _And just like that, I was brought back to earth by a concerned sounding Annabeth. I didn't want to appear weak in front of her, so I sucked in my fears and insecurities and said "What? No, no, no. Of course I want to smoke. I want to at least try it once in my life, you know. I don't wanna miss out on anything in life anymore. I used to be the guy that always stayed in while everyone else was out having fun and experiencing life. And dammit, I'm sick of staying inside. I want to go out."_

 _After that I took a long drag, and I was hooked._

I was brought out of my reverie by my math teacher.

"Mr. Jackson, since you have so much time daydreaming, I must assume that you already know all of this! Silly me! So, how about you give us a demonstration of your seemingly vast knowledge, by doing the exercise on the blackboard." Ms. Alecto said in her shrill voice.

Man, she does not like me. It's because she thinks I'm cheating on her tests and copying other people's homework. In her eyes I can't possibly get the grades I have, looking the way I do. In fact, she called me a no-good delinquent who piggybacks on other people's hard work. Is it really that hard to believe that I'm smart?

She's been doing this all month, asking me answers to difficult problems we haven't seen yet, making me go up to the blackboard and complete exercises, to catch me making a mistake and 'prove' that I'm not smart and that I'm cheating. And time and time again, I answer her correctly, I solve the problems correctly, I'm always 5 steps ahead of her, and now is no exception.

"Correct." She say begrudgingly, "You may sit down. If I catch you daydreaming one more time, it'll be detention!"

I roll my eyes at her and gave her a mock-salute in response. She just settled for glaring at me for the rest of the class.

-Line Break-

"Damn, how are you so fast?" Nico gasped out.

"What are you talking about?" It was gym, the only class I had with the gang, and we had to partner up for this running exercise as a warm-up.

"I can't breathe, time-out. Time-out." He said while collapsing on the grass.

"Dude, you've got to work out more." I said while sitting down beside him.

"I work out!" He cried out indignantly.

"Yeah, but when I say work out I mean actually exercising, not dancing at a club or at a mosh pit."

I replied.

"In my defense, a mosh pit requires a lot of physical activity." He said.

I just shook my head at that. This is nice. I haven't been able to talk to Nico all that much, what with him holding a grudge against Thalia. I've got to do something about that. Nico's my friend and so is Thalia and I'd love to hang out with them, the both of them, at the same time. How am I gonna fix this?

Nico's POV  
While Percy was off in his little world, I found myself involuntarily staring at Annabeth and Thalia. Specifically at Thalia. I thought back on our past friendship. Maybe it's time I forgive Thalia, after all, she and Percy seem to be getting along fine, great even. And I want to be there for my bro. I want him to know that I support him and that I'm happy for him. So why do I have this weird gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I think about them. Together. I'm probably just worried about him, like with Austin. Yeah, that's it.

I looked back at Percy and I saw him staring at the same direction I was staring at, but unlike me, his attention was on the other girl. Annabeth. Huh, now that I think about it, he has been spending a lot more time with Annabeth too. They get along splendidly. Well... They do argue. A lot. But they always make up in the end. And now that I think about it, they'd make a good couple. A great one in fact. How did I not see this? I know I teased him about this before, but now it seems like it might actually happen. I'm gonna make sure of it.

"Hey Perce, whatcha thinking about?"

"Hm, I'm sorry. What?" He said, his eyes still fixated on Annabeth.

"I said, whatcha thinking about?"

"Lots of things, I suppose."

"Do those things involve a beautiful blonde grey-eyed goddess?" I asked.

For that, he did turn his head. "Whaat? You're making no sense, absolutely no sense! Why would I be thinking about Annabeth?"

Got him! "Who said I was talking about Annabeth?"

His eyes widened at that. He started spluttering. "Who... Who said I was talking about Annabeth?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Exactly." He said, looking confused himself.

I blinked at him. "You're not making any sense."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"Am I?"

"YES! If you say 'Am I?' one more time, I'M gonna kill you."

"... Am I?"

"That's it!" I stood up, ready to kill him, but then he started running. Damn him.

"Catch me if you can, Death Breath!"

"I'm gonna KILL you!"

Once I caught up to him, I found him sitting on the bottom of the bleachers, looking pensive. I forgot all about my threat for a while and sat beside him. I was content, sitting here beside my cousin, just observing all of the students sitting on the grass. Man, the teachers here really don't care anymore. I was surprised to see him bring out a pack of cigarettes and shocked too see him smoke it expertly.

"Since when do you smoke?" I asked him, while lighting one of them up for myself.

"Since forever, Nico. I just realized I do on girls-night out." He answered. Man, I hate it when he tries being philosophical and shit.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop trying to be philosophical, face it bro, you're not gonna be a philosopher. Deal with it."

"Wow, way to be supportive. I really feel the love there cuz, I really feel the love."

"Yeah, I'm a very loving person. I get that a lot."

He just snorted and said "I bet."

We both laughed, and I realize he's been changing subjects and making me forget my questions. Not anymore. Now seems like as good a time as any to have a heart to heart talk with my cousin.

"Percy, I've gotta know. Do you like Annabeth?"

His eyes widened at that, and he honestly did look shocked at me when I asked him that.

"What?"

"I said, do you like Annabeth?"

"Of course I like her. She's becoming one of my best friends!"

Oh my gods. I honestly don't know if he's really that obtuse or he's messing with me on purpose.

"No. I mean, do you love her?"

Percy's POV  
"No. I mean, do you love her?" Nico asked.

And that's been the elephant in the room, I just didn't realize it. I mean, do I love Annabeth? I don't know. I've been so focused on Thalia the whole time, that I didn't really give myself the chance to think about Annabeth that way. It's not like it matters anyway, Annabeth would never like me that way. With Thalia at least, I have a chance. All Annabeth and I do is fight. Adding a relationship to that is a recipe for disaster. That thought did make me feel glum.

I sighed and said "I.. I don't know. Maybe?"

"What do you mean, you don't know? How can you not know?"

"I don't know? Okay?"

"Okay, let's make it simple. On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you love her."

I just shook my head, this is too hard. It's too hard.

"Look, Nico. What are you doing? No, wait. Why are you doing this? She's my friend, I'm her friend. Everything is great right now between us. Why would I want to potentially ruin this great friendship with a relationship? I'm happy, she's happy, we're all happy! It doesn't matter anyway, Thalia's the girl for me."

"But is she?"

"Yes! She has been since the beginning!"

"Okay, okay. Just checking, you know. Just making sure. I'm just looking out for you man. I don't want you getting hurt by her." He said concernedly.

I smiled at that "I know bro. I know. But you've got to let me do my thing. You've got to let me live my life. I'm gonna get hurt. It's inevitable. I'm going to fall. But, it'll be okay. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I know you'll be there to catch me man, with a bottle of whisky when it happens."

He smiled at me and said "A bottle of whisky and a packet of smokes,my friend."

And then it was quiet for a while. He decided to break the silence. "I've got to know though. It's been three months, how can you wait that long? I know that I the grand scheme of things, three months is nothing, but to us right now, it's like three years. How can you wait for that? How are you so certain that it's gonna happen?"

"I'll admit, it's not easy. It's hard to wait around for something you know might never happen; but it's harder to give up when you know it's everything you want."

It was getting all weird and awkward so I decided to break this mood. "I think we should hug."vYep. That did it. Awkward touchy feely moment was all gone.

"What? No way! I am not hugging you!"

"Why not? We're family!"

"Nope, not gonna happen." He said. "I don't 'do' hugs. Ever."

"Well, hugs aren't there for you to 'do'." I said, whilst getting up and hugging him.

"Stop! It's making me uncomfortable!"

"Too late!" I said.

"Quick, hide!" He hissed.

I let go and said "What?"

He just grabbed my shirt and dragged me down, under the bleachers.

"Why did you bring me here, Thalia?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't want to have grass stains on my shorts! Unless, you're planning on cleaning them? Thought so."

"Well, while we're here, we might as well light up a few, dontcha think?"

"It's like your read my mind Annie." Thalia said, while lighting up a cigarette.

"Don't call me that!" Annabeth protested, for what honestly felt like the hundredth time.

I started tuning out what they said and turn to Nico.

"Dude, why'd you bring me down here?" I asked him.

"I thought it was a teacher. Do you know what would happen if they caught us smoking on school grounds?"

I looked through the bleachers at the teacher, who was reading a magazine with earplugs on, and then looked back at Nico.

"Yeah.. I think we were fine. He didn't seem to care all that much."

"Oh, sooorry for actually being worried about you! Sheesh, next time a thank would've been enough!" He fumed.

I just sighed and realized something.

"Dude, why are we still here? Why don't we just go up and hang out with Thalia and Annabeth?" I asked him.

He just gave me a look.

"Okay, okay. I know you're still pissed at Thalia because of the whole Austin thing, but that's been like, what? Two years ago. You've gotta learn to let go man."

"Let go? She basically destroyed my best friend!"

"After she was destroyed by your other best friend! Look, I'm not gonna defend her, but can you honestly tell me that there isn't even a little piece of you that misses hanging out with her?"

"..."

"See? Why don't you just admit it. You miss her."

"Look, Percy, you're a nice kid. But you don't understand, okay? Thalia never hurt you. I bet if she did, you'd be acting just like me."

"Umm, I don't think so."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Mmmm, nope."

"Mmmm, yep."

"Nooo, probably not."

"Okay, we can keep arguing about this, but the fact is you don't know what it's like. And that's okay. But just.. just let me deal with this my own way, okay? I'm gonna think about it long and hard, okay?"

I nodded at that, seems like that'll be the best offer he'll give me and I'll take it. It was quiet for a while and so we both listened in on the conversation happening above us. Boy, I wished we just walked away. That _I_ walked away.

"I don't like Percy like that. I never will. Not like that anyway. He's more like a... a brother! He's not the type of guy you fall for he's the type of guy who'd catch you when you fall, you know? He's just a friend."

I didn't hear anything else after that. I didn't hear Annabeth's answer, I didn't hear Nico asking me if I was okay, I didn't even hear Thalia call out my name. Because it might've been just a second or ten, but in those seconds I felt the most agonizing pain I've ever felt. I forgot everything else, the fact that I was in school, the fact that I have History next period, everything. All I knew was that I had to get out of here. So I did. I grabbed my stuff, left the building and just drove with absolutely no destination in mind.

I just drove.

* * *

 **Aaaaand we're done! Whew, I hope you guys liked this chapter, because I really really liked writing it. I decided to speed things up a bit, because at the rate I'm going, it seems like this story'll have like 50 chapters! A lot has happened, huh? I feel really bad for Percy, but this is important to the story! Trust me, I'm the writer and I'm Asian. ;) (Jk, but not about the Asian part)**

 **But seriously, if you guys liked it, be sure to let me know why and how I can improve, or if you have an idea or suggestion I'm all ears. If you didn't like it, be sure to let me know, after all. It's the mistakes you make that help you improve. Or something like that, I don't know. I didn't edit this, because I didn't have the time, so let's hope that I didn't make to many grammatical errors and spelling mistakes! I hope you guys appreciated this chapter, because it did take a LOT longer to write than I originally planned, that I lost time on studying for my test tomorrow. And sleep. But that's okay, because I promised you guys a new chapter, and I keep my promises, dammit! Anyway I should really go to sleep now, I've got a concert to go to tomorrow (GREEN DAY! AAAAAH! I'M SO EXCITED!), so goodnight/morning/evening/whatever time it is wherever you are! Peace out homies! (Okay, that was weird. I'm never using the word omit again. I just cannot pull it off, like some people. Lucky bastards.)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Percy's POV  
I don't know how I ended up here in Montauk or why or even long I sat there, I really don't. It could've been 10 minutes, it could've been an hour for all I care. I just sat there, and thought back to a time much simpler than this. Back when I was six and my parents were still around more, back when girls had cooties, back when going to Montauk was a rare treat, a vacation, back when it all made sense. Anything other than... today.

Shit. Too late. I can't believe it. She doesn't like me. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, a tiny piece of me kind of expected it, but it still hurt. To have a girl say that 'you're not the kind of guy that girls fall for?' yeah, that's harsh.

She's not wrong I guess. This wouldn't be the first time a girl basically friend zoned me, I just thought that it could've been different this time you know? I did everything Nico told me to do, I started drinking, I started smoking, I changed how I dressed, what I did in my free time and it still wasn't enough! I still ended up friend zoned! Why do I even bother? Maybe I should just give up on girls, shave my head and become a monk and accept the fact that I'll die a virgin.

I was perfectly content, just sitting there contemplating what I did wrong and how I could just get away from it all, when life interrupted me, once more.

"Hey Percy..." said an all too familiar voice.

Nico's POV  
Shit. I knew I should've just dragged him AWAY from the bleachers the moment I saw them, but I didn't. I was a fucking idiot and now my friend, my cousin, now my brother in all but blood is hurting.

"Percy!" I shouted. It was no use, it's like he couldn't hear anything. It's ironic, just today I told him _"Look, Percy, you're a nice kid. But you don't understand, okay? Thalia never hurt you. I bet if she did, you'd be acting just like me."_ and he got hurt, by her.

"Percy?!" Thalia shouted/asked.

I was running after him, but I got stopped by Thalia. Great, just what I needed.

"What are you doing? Let me go!?" I shouted at her.

"Not until you tell me what's going on, right now Di Angelo!" She shouted back.

I shoved her off of me and said "Haven't you done enough? Wasn't it enough, hurting Austin? Did you have to hurt Percy too? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

She looked at me apprehensively and said "What are you talking about?"

"He heard." I deadpanned. "Everything."

She looked horrified at me.

I just nodded my head and said "Yeah, exactly. SO will you please leave me alone? I've got a best friend that needs me, like right now. I don't have time for your shit."

With that said I left to go grab my things and look for him, not caring that they were following me, until I was stopped by the principal.

"And where do you think you're going mr. Di Angelo?" He asked me in a smug tone.

I scowled at him and said "Emergency."

He just raised an eyebrow and said "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I would know if there's an emergency."

"Oh really? Because last I checked whenever I'm in an emergency, calling the school principal isn't really my priority." I answered back sarcastically. He did not like that. At all.

In fact he scowled and stepped closer and said "Listen here Di Angelo, the sole reason I haven't expelled you yet is because of your father. Trust me, if it weren't for him you'd be LONG gone. But don't think I'll be treating you any differently for it. I don't like you. I don't like how your influencing other students. I don't like your attitude, your tone or your kind. If you leave now, I promise you, you're life will be a living hell."

Boy, he does not like me. How should have I known that that was his daughter I lost my virginity to? Small world, I'll tell ya that.

He just kept his gaze on me and said in a stern voice "Are we clear, here?"

I gritted my teeth and said "Crystal."

He just nodded his head with that smug smirk of his and walked away like he owned the place.

I was still planning on going, when my friends need me I'm there, when I was stopped once more, this time by Leo.

"You heard him Nico, you should just stay here."

"What do you want me to do? Huh?" I exploded. "Percy needs me, I'm not gonna lose anyone else, I'm gonna be there for him. I have to. I can't let history repeat itself. I can't-"

"-You know it wasn't your fault what happened to Austin." He interrupted me. "Austin chose his path and so did Percy. It doesn't mean that it's the same one."

"How do you know?!"

"I don't." He deadpanned. " I don't even know what happened, but what I do know, is that I've got free period next period and you have math. Don't worry, I'll take care of him."

I looked at him, unsure and not convinced. I mean, come on! This is my cousin! He needs me. I promised him, today even, that I'd be there for him when he falls and that's now. Nothing's gonna stop me.

"Percy wouldn't want you to miss class, and you know it Nico." Leo reminded me. "We both know that school is important to him, just stay. He'll be fine. I'll find him, I promise."

I sighed, I knew I was gonna regret this, but...

"Fine, you win this round Valdez. Just.. Just make sure he's okay, please?"

He gave me a determined look and said "I swear on the River Styx."

I widened my eyes at that. Holy shit, he's serious. You see, in our group we read about the River Styx and how if you break a swear on it, that there'll be bad consequences. Leo didn't take it seriously one time and well... Let's just say one hospital stay later, he never broke one again, in fact, he takes it crazy serious right now.

"Thank you." I told him earnestly.

And then he was gone. Don't worry Percy, Leo will find you!

Thalia's POV  
Oh gods, I can't believe he heard me! This is all a big misunderstanding! I didn't mean to say those hurtful words, I really didn't. I mean, I don't like Percy THAT way, but I still like him. He grew on me.

The only reason I said that, was to see how Annabeth was going to react and to get her to admit she likes him. And, in a way, to low-key reassure her that if she did like him, that I wasn't going to be a threat.

These past two months, I saw them grow closer together and I really wanted to help him. I kinda sorta knew about his crush on me, but I didn't think he'd take it this hard. Gods, this is all my fault! I've got to find him and clear it all up.

"Why would he react this hard?" Annabeth wondered.

"What?" I asked, playing dumb. I don't know if she knows about his crush.

"It's just weird. Like if I overheard Nico say that to Percy, I wouldn't react like that. And did you see his face? He didn't look offended. He looked, kind of hurt. Heartbroken, even. Weird, right?" She said, gaining a contemplative look.

Shit, she's gonna connect the dots, soon. So far I've been doing a great job, distracting her and keeping her in the dark when it came to Percy's feeling. All my heard, about to be ruined, unless I do something.

"Well, to be fair, I basically told him that no girl would fall for him. I'm pretty sure any guy would've reacted the way he did." I reasoned.

She nodded, but still looked doubtful. "Yeah, you could be right. Yeah.. No.. You're probably right. I mean, it's not like he liked you or anything, right?"

I just laughed uneasily at that and said "Whaat? Him? Like me? That's, just... Whaat? Crazy talk. You're talking crazy talk right now. Like making absolutely no sense!"

She looked at me weirdly. "Umm... Are you okay? You're acting kind of weird."

I just took a sip of water, laughed uneasily and said "Yeah, of course! Never been better! Why do you ask?"

She continued looking at me weirdly. "Maybe because you're drinking from the water bottle that's been there since our freshman year?"

My eyes widened at that, holy crap. I started spitting on the ground and was about to drink more water to get rid of it, until she just hit the bottle out of my hands and handed me her water.

I gulped it down and thanked her.

"Yeah, no problem. Can't let you die now, can I? We've still got to figure out where Percy is and why he's there."

I internally groaned at that, can't she let it go?

"Do we have to?" I asked.

She looked at me with wide eyes and shocked. She said "Of course we do! He's our friend and he's out there hurting! We've got to figure out where he is, and if he's okay."

"I just think he needs some time and space, to figure things out."

"What? No! He needs his friends, he needs help and support."

"Listen, Annabeth. What I think he needs right now, is to be alone. He needs some space. You can't always help him, you've got history next period. Remember?"

She looked disappointed when I told her that, but then her face lit up. "You've got free period next period! You can go look for him, and see if he's all right."

Yeah... I don't think he wants to see me right now. Wait. What am I thinking? He needs me! I'm not gonna let this happen again. Never again. I need to find him, like right now.

I nodded my head at that and said "Great idea Annie! I'm gonna go look for him. I'll let you know once I have anything on him."

And then I left. Don't worry Percy! I'm gonna find you!

 **(A/N: I was gonna stop here, but then I thought to myself 'They've had enough cliffhangers, they deserve a treat', so here you go :)**

Percy's POV

"How'd you find me?" I sighed.

"Lucky guess. I had a feeling you might be here." Leo answered.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?" I asked.

"Shouldn't you?" He retorted. Touché.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said honestly.

He grabbed my shoulders and said "Then we won't. Come on Perce, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here. I'm not gonna make you talk about it, whatever it is, or even let you THINK about it. No, whatever it is, I'm gonna help you forget it about. We're gonna do anything you want, anything to forget, whatever the case, I will be there. Something dangerous, something destructive, something stupid and in the end of it all, if you want to talk, I'll be there. I'm here for you Perce."

-Time skip: 2 months-

It's been two months, and it still hurt. It's like it just happened today. I wasn't myself. I haven't talked to Thalia all that much, to be honest I've been avoiding her. It hurt, seeing her, knowing that it was never ever gonna happen. The saddest part though? A small, tiny, minuscule part of me still has hope that we'll be together one day. What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I move on?

"You're gonna have to talk to her some day, Perce." Nico said during lunch.

"I know." I sighed. "Wait. Why do you care? You don't even want to talk to her."

He took a bite from his sandwich and said "True, true. But I miss eating in the cafeteria, like a normal person. And I'm sick of seeing you hurt so bad, cuz. And I know you miss talking to her. Just talk to her, and things'll go back to normal."

"Every time I look at her... It hurts. Even if I do talk to her.. I don't think I could do normal anymore Nico. I just.. I don't know, okay? I'm confused and hurt and mad. It's been two months! Why do I still fell like this? I thought time heals all wounds, so why does it still hurt?"

"I don't know Percy. I don't know. But I do know, that it's temporary."

"Doesn't feel that way."

"Now. It doesn't feel that way, now. But one day, you'll wake up next to the person you'll love more than anything else, and you'll be thankful for the pain. One day, in the future, you'll be thankful for all of it, the good times, the bad times, the stupid times, because it'll get you where you have to be. You just gotta be patient, and take it one step at the time."

"... Wow. That was deep bro, respect." I said, and offered him my fist.

He just shrugged, fist bumped me and said "Eh, what can I say? Sandwiches will do that to me."

"You know, I do want to forgive her. I want that more than anything, but ever time I see her it's like I'm under the bleachers all over again, and.. and.. Well."

He smiled sadly at me and said "Yeah, I get it..." He sighed and said "You know I love you, right?"

I looked at him weirdly, because that just came out of nowhere. "Umm... Yeah?"

"And I'd do anything for you."

"Uhh, okay. Thanks? Me too, I guess?"

"So... I'm willing to forgive her, if you are."

"I...What? Really? But you hold the longest grudges, ever." It's true, once when he was 6 they served him the wrong ice cream at this ice cream shop, to this day he's still convinced they did it on purpose and refuses to even look at the place.

"I know, but if it'll help you, then I'm willing to forgive her. But only if you are. We in this together, or what?" He said, holding his hand out.

I thought about it for a while and then said "What the hell, sure! I'm in." And grabbed his hand, stood up from the bleachers and walked toward the cafeteria.

I was feeling really hyped and pumped, which is why I kicked the doors open. All heads turned my way. I smiled sheepishly and scratched behind my neck. "Uhh, sorry."

Nico just grabbed me by the arm and said "Seriously? Did you have to kick the doors?"

"I'm sorry! I just really felt like I was in an action movie!"

He sighed and said exasperated "What am I gonna do with you?"

Before I could answer, I found myself standing in front of the person I've been avoiding for two months.

"Hey... Thalia." I said awkwardly.

"Hey Percy. Long time no see."

"Yeah, well... I've been like super busy, so... yeah."

"Right, right."

"Listen, we need to talk."

"We kind of are already."

"Alone." I said, looking at the people sitting by her table.

She stared at me for a while, making me nervous and convincing me that this was a horrible idea, and eventually said "Okay." She grabbed my arm and dragged me outside, to the bleachers.

We sat there in awkward silence for a while. I was collecting my wits, wondering how to start this conversation. Looks like I didn't have to worry.

"I'm sorry." She said.

I was shocked, because Thalia Grace NEVER apologizes. EVER!

"What?" I asked in awe.

She scowled at me and said "Don't make me say it again Kelp Head."

I shook my head and said "Right, sorry. It's just... Never in a million years did I think that I'd find the great Thalia Grace.. Apologizing. To me, no less. It's just weird."

She grumbled for a while and shoved me. "Shut up. I do mean it though. I didn't want to hurt you, I never did."

I stared at her and said sadly "You never loved me, did you?"

She was quiet for a while. Eventually though, she did answer.

"I'm not gonna lie to you Percy. For a second there, before all of this, I loved you. I fell for you, I really did. But, not for the right reasons. You loved me, for who I was, you actually wanted to get to know me, you listened, you made me laugh and you looked at me as if I was a goddess.. It's hard not to fall for that.

But I only loved you, because you loved me when I couldn't love myself. I didn't love you for who you were, I didn't love you for your sense of humor, I didn't love you for the little romantic gestures you did, no, I loved you because you made me feel good. Wanted. Loved. But I didn't love you for you. And you deserve more than that. You deserve someone that loves you with everything they've got and more. Someone will appreciate you, for the wonderful person that you are.

When I saw how much I hurt you that day, I had an epiphany. For the past two months, while you've been avoiding me, I've been working on loving myself. And no, not like that, get your mind out of the gutter." She said, giving me a pointed look.

What can I say? I'm immature, I know it.

She continued. "I've been working on it. But I have missed you, you know. I miss hanging out with you. I miss your lame dirty jokes. Annabeth misses you too."

I just looked at her weirdly. "What on earth are you talking about? I hang out with Annabeth. And I see her at her place whenever we work on that history project!"

"It's not the same Percy, and you know it. Whenever I'm over, you leave."

"Well, what do you expect? You basically said that no girl would fall for me. Kinda awkward being around someone that said that about you, don't ya think?"

"I didn't mean it like that, okay?"

"You sounded pretty serious to me."

"Dammit Percy, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Look who's talking!"

"I apologized!"

"Only once! Do you know how many times I've had to apologize to you for the stupidest reasons?"

"It's not my fault you've got Kelp for brains!"

"A lot better than a Pinecone face." I said smugly.

Her eyes widened at that. "What did you just call me?"

I gave her a smirked at her and said "Pinecone Face. Yeah, don't think I forgot about you running into that pinecone tree."

"That was an accident, and you know it!"

"Maybe next time you should watch where you're going then."

"Well, maybe next time I should just shove your head into a pinecone tree then." She retorted.

I just brought my hands up and said "Woah, chill out Thals, I was only kidding. Mostly."

She just punched me in the shoulder. "Hey, we're not fighting anymore!" She exclaimed.

She's right! Somewhere along the way, we just stopped fighting and started teasing each other. Huh. Didn't know it'd be that easy.

"That was surprisingly easy." I said.

She just nodded her head."It's probably because we're great friends. And because you missed me. You know you did." She said smugly.

I shook my head at that and said "Whatever helps you sleep at night Thals, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"So, we're cool, right?" Thalia asked.

I smiled at her and said "Yeah, we're cool. You should probably stay here though, Nico wants to talk to you."

She looked surprised at that. "Nico? Really?"

I scratched behind my neck and said "Yeah, it's the only reason I agreed on talking to you. He said he'd talk to you, if I did. And so, yeah, now that I did, he's gonna too."

Nico's POV  
"You must really like Percy, if you're willing to talk to me." Thalia said.

I nodded my head at that and said 2I do, I really do Thalia. He's my brother in all but blood."

"Well, technically, you guys DO share blood, in a way."

I just gave her a pointed glare and said "Yeah, sure didn't miss that."

She smiled at me and said "Aw, come one Nico. Admit it, you missed me."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Did I? Because so far, this has been the best 2 years of my life."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"Better than... The two years where you got to play the bass on a Green Day concert, met the members of Panic! At The Disco and found that 20-dollar bill?"

Damn. Those were 2 pretty great years. Two awesome years actually.

I sighed and stayed quiet, because well.. Those were two really great years.

"I thought so." She said smugly.

"Shut up." I said.

"Make me." She challenged.

"Do you really want me to... Pinecone Face?" I teased.

Oh god, I know that by saying that I basically signed my death warrant, but dam that felt great. Seeing her shocked and red face was worth it.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" She demanded slowly.

"What? You don't like the name Pinecone Face?" I said innocently.

"How do you know that name?" She demanded.

I just looked at her incredulously. "Guess."

"I'm gonna kill Percy. I can't believe he told you." Whoops, sorry Perce.

I should change the subject. "So, everything good between you and Percy?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so. We talked, I punched him, it's all good."

I nodded my head and said "That's good. He was really bummed out."

"I apologized to him."

I looked at her, surprised.

"What?" She huffed.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just... You don't apologize. Like, ever."

"Hey! I'm not that mean!" She said indignantly.

"Yeah.. You kind of are." I told her.

She huffed and said "Like you're one to talk. You're not exactly a bag full of sunshine yourself, Death Breath."

"Hey, I'm not denying that. I'm about as far away from that, and that's how I like it. You're a bad person, so am I."

"So, we should stick together then."

".. I don't know.." I said uncertainly

"Aww, come on Nico! It's been two years. TWO years. Fine, I'll admit it. I miss you, okay? I miss hanging out with you, I miss talking to you, I miss you. You're the only person here that was there for me, for everything, and when you stopped talking to me, it hurt more than anything else. More than what Luke did, more than when my parents divorced, more than when I broke my arm." She confessed.

I was shocked. I think my jaw was actually open. After a while I cleared my throat and said "Umm.. Wow. Really?"

"You were basically my best friend back then Nico. I missed you more than I missed Luke."

"Wow... I never knew. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be. You had the right to. You told me not to hurt him, but I still did."

"I always wanted to know, why did you do it? Why did you go out with him, let him do all of it, if you never loved him?"

"I wanted to be loved, I wanted to get back at Luke and I guess I thought I could show him what he did through Austin. I did love him though. Despite what I told him, I did love him with everything I had. But I was broken, and so, my love was too. I overheard him talking to his parents, and I knew I couldn't be the reason he lost a great opportunity. You and I both knew that he was gonna make it far, but if he stayed with me I'd just be dragging him down, and I couldn't do that to him. So, I did what I had to and said what I had to. In the end, I only regret the pain caused him, not me."

The whole time she was talking, I listened and I found myself forgiving her. I was watching her intently when she spoke, and I didn't see a single sign of deception. She really did love him. And in a way, maybe she's right, maybe she isn't. All I know is, that I forgive her.

"I forgive you." I said.

"What?"

"I forgive you. You had Austin's interest at heart and I can't hate you for that. And... I guess I missed you too. Just a little bit though. A teeny tiny bit. Microscopic even."

She smiled, that same heart stopping real smile, and sang "You missed me, you missed me, you missed me!"

"Shut up." I said.

She just kept singing, and for what felt like two years, I finally laughed with everything I had.

-Time Skip: 1 month-

Percy's POV  
So it's been one months since I started hanging out with Thalia again, and things are... Fine I guess. They're still a little awkward whenever we're alone. But as long as we're surrounded by other people, it's all good.

"I don't know why it's so awkward between me and Thalia." I told Leo. It was Friday and I was at his place because he needed help with his homework. We just ended up playing video games instead.

"Well, do you still like her?" He asked.

"No!... Okay, yeah. Maybe a little. But I don't know what to do! I was in love with her, that doesn't just go away in a couple of months."

"You see, what the problem is, is that you haven't moved on. You should go out, meet girls and have fun, without Thalia. Or Annabeth."

"What's wrong with Annabeth?" I asked confused.

"Nothing's wrong with Annabeth."

"Well then why can't she come with us?"

"She's got a boyfriend... Remember?"

Right. 'How could I forget?' I thought bitterly. She's going out with this guy named Derek. That's such a lame name. Derek. I hate him. I remember the day I found out. It was two weeks ago, and started on this exact couch:

FLASHBACK:

" _Yo Perce, so how's everything between you and Thalia so far?" Leo asked me._

" _Pretty good, pretty good. There's some awkward moments and silences here and there, but otherwise it's good." I answered._

" _So, uh... how about you and Annabeth? What's going on between you two?" He said, whilst wiggling his eyebrows._

 _I threw a pillow at him. "Dud, shut up. We're jus friends."_

" _Just friends?" He repeated._

" _Yes! Just friends."_

" _Bro, you guys look at each other just a little too long to be 'just friends'."_

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _What do you mean 'What am I talking about?' ? You like her."_

" _Umm, yeah. She's my friend."_

" _You like-like hear."_

" _Like-Like? Really? What are we? Twelve?"  
_

" _You might as well be with how clueless you are right now!"_

 _I groaned, "Dude, not you too. Why is everyone convinced that we like each other?"_

" _Because you do! Dios mio, you're an idioto! If I felt the way you did for Annabeth, I wouldn't be sitting here playing video games. Hell no! I'd be out there buying the woman I love chocolates and flowers. * Sigh * I guess we can't all be a ladies man like me."_

" _First and for all, seriously? I understood that, and it hurts! Second and for all, who the hell said anything about love? And third and for all, you are NOT a ladies man, dude... You're a lady killer."_

 _We fist bumped and he said "You know it. But you still love her."_

" _I don't. I do not love her. She's my friend Annabeth. She's my girlfriend Annabeth. FRIEND. I meant to say friend."_

 _He just looked at me and said "Whatever dude. You're heart is speaking to you, are you ready to listen?"_

"I am very much in tune with my heart, and it has never said a word to me about Annabeth. Look, she's a nice girl, a great one even, but all we do is fight, argue and oh fight. Why would I want to spend the rest of my life with a girl that hates me?"

" _Because she challenges you. She doesn't make anything easy and you like that."_

" _Wrong!"_

" _Am I? So you're telling me you don't like challenges?"_

 _I kept my mouth shut, because honestly I DO love challenges, a lot._

" _That's what I thought." he said smugly._

" _Shut up!" I growled._

" _Okay, let's make a bet. If I beat you in Mario Kart, then you have to show up at Annabeth's door in a suit with flowers and ask her on a date. If I lose, then I'll... I'll be your slave for a month."_

 _I immediately agreed, Leo sucked at Mario Kart. "Deal" I said._

 _Long story short: I lost. He lied, he hurricane rocked at Mario Kart._

 _So here I am, in a suit with flowers about to get rejected by Annabeth. I can always tell her it was for a bet I reasoned. That's what I told myself._

 _Why was I so nervous? It's just Annabeth. My buddy Annabeth. My good buddy Annabeth. My rapidly becoming beautiful buddy-_

 _Whoa! Where did that come from? I mean, in the beginning of the year I thought Annabeth was cute, but the more I got to know her, the more beautiful she became. Like seriously, I wouldn't admit this to anyone else, but sometimes I have to stop myself from staring too long at her._

 _I shook my head at these thoughts. Friends. That's what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, it might become awkward because of this date, but who knows, she'll probably say no, and we'll have a laugh about this. Not so hard._

 _Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell. The person who opened the door was not who I was expecting, it was her younger brother, Bobby._

" _Heya Bobby, have any idea where your sister is?"_

" _Why are you in a suit? You look like a penguin."_

" _Uhh, okay. Thanks, I mean this is navy blue and penguins are black, but whatever. So, do you know where she is?"_

" _Out."_

 _I gritted my teeth at that. "Yes, I got that part. Where out?" I asked nicely._

" _I dunno. The park I think for some fresh air."_

 _And then he slammed the door in my face. It's official, I like Mathew more._

 _At least now I have a destination in mind: The park._

 _So, I'm here at Central park and only now do I realize how godsdam big it really is. How on earth am I supposed to find her?_

 _And then I heard her laugh. Gods, that laugh. Sometimes, I'll do stupid stuff on purpose, just to hear her laugh like that. I looked around for her, and when I saw her my breath caught in my throat. She didn't look any differently, hair in a messy bun, band t-shirt with ripped jeans and black converse, and yet it felt different somehow. Like something changed. Because when I looked at her right now, I swear my heart might've skipped a beat._

 _Okay, just walk up to her give her the flowers and then ask her on a date. Not that hard. So why were my palms so sweaty? What's up with that? Never mind, I'm just gonna do it and see what happens._

 _I was making my way to her, when a guy started running towards her and then grabbed her an spun her around. Now this guy, looked like a typical rock guy. Buff, dark raven hair and band tees with ripped jeans and docs on with a piercing and a bunch of tattoos._

 _She shrieked and so I was on my way to save her, when I heard her laugh._

" _Dammit Derek! Don't scare me like that!" She said._

" _Aww, come on babe. You know you love it!" He answered and then he kissed her!_

 _And then it started to rain. Typical. They both walked away, but I stayed there. It was like I couldn't move, I wanted to, but I couldn't. This is so stupid. I men, it's not like I liked her or anything. So why does it feel like someone just roundhouse kicked my heart into oblivion? When I finally got some movement in my legs, I was drenched, miserable and sad. It felt like I lost something. On my way home, I threw the flowers away. They're useless now._

"... Moving on. Hey, we should go out tonight! Yeah, this can be like our bro's night out! We never hang out, just the two of us!"

"Yeah, okay. I'm down. What do you want to do?

And that's how I found myself on stage, in a navy blue suit in, a 60's jazz themed bar singing Ray Charles' Hit the Road Jack. It could've been worse I guess. And I'll admit, I am having fun. I forgot the whole Annabeth fiasco, I forgot that I was sad, I even forgot WHY I was sad. Leo really came trough for me. Unfortunately after that, what happened that day was never far from my mind.

After my performance, Leo clapped me on the back and handed me a whiskey.

"You know, I still don't know how the hell you got me a fake ID so fast."

"Percy, Percy, Percy. I knew this day would come, where it's just you and me, ready to paint the town red. So I had a fake ID made for you. Don't ask me where I got it bro, the less you know, the better, trust me."

I just took a sip and said "Yeah.. I don't want to know. But I do have to admit, this is nice. We really should do this more often."

And then, I heard the voice of an angel.

There was this girl on the stage, singing a cover of Radiohead's Creep (think: Postmodern Jukebox cover), and I was absolutely enchanted by her voice.

She was beautiful, with her caramel hair braided over one shoulder, almond-shaped eyes and a face that appeared to be timeless. She wore a white Greek inspired dress, with a low circular neckline, trimmed in gold but her best feature was her voice. She could've looked like a troll and I'd still notice her. When she sung, nothing else seemed to matter. It was like all of my problems just... Disappeared.

The whole time she was singing, I literally could not take my eyes off of her.

I was hooked.

* * *

 **Whew, this was a doozy of a chapter. It's my way of apologising for not updating for a while. there was this whole accident with me dog, but you guys don't care about that. I promise that the next chapter will come out on Wednesday the latest. Hope you guys liked this one, if so please tell me why I'd love to get some feedback. If not, please tell me so I can improve both my writing and you reading experience. I try to** **take into account all of your requests. It's hard sometimes, but I try. I did not have the time to proofread this, because I wanted to post this chapter as fast as possible, so if you see any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes please tell me, because I will edit this later on.**

 **Also NONAME2002: I'm so sorry, but to be fair I did warn you in the description that there were gonna be LOADS of cliffhangers. And that last one was a pretty good one if I do say so myself. Also, if you do tear out my soul and... do all that you said you would: Who would finish the story then? I'm glad you like the story so far, I try. And consider the warning heeded.**

 **Thanks to all of the people that reviewed, it really does help me stay motivated tow rite, knowing that you guys like it so far. Anyway that's all for now, I'll see you guys soon.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Percy's POV  
In the tenth grade I had the biggest crush on Gina Cavalli. She wasn't particularly beautiful or smart or anything, I mean she was pretty but not the most popular girl in school. In fact, I never really noticed her all that much, but when I heard her sing for the first time, it was like I was hit by a firetruck, because she had the voice of an angel. Some guys like boobs, other guys prefer ass, but me? I'm a sucker for a girl with a beautiful voice. It's always been my one true weakness. And this girl is making me feel weaker than I've ever felt.

"Hey Perce, are you okay?" Leo asked me concernedly.

"Uhh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because you haven't taken your eyes off of the stage for a while now."

"Yeah, so?"

"There's no one on the stage."

"What?" I asked disbelievingly, and sure enough there's no one there. How did I not notice that? More importantly, where did she go?

"Yeah, you sure you're alright bro? Because we can just go home if you want. We don't have to go out to have a good time. I know it must be hard for you, what with Thalia and Annabeth and all..."

"I said I'm fine Leo. Besides, it's our first guys night out ever. Do we really want to spend it at home, watching movies, doing stuff we could do any other night? Or, do we want to spend it, enjoying the New York city nightlife and showing all guys out there how it's done?" I questioned him.

He wore a face of mock offense and answered "I'm offended you even have to ask me that question." He clapped me on the back and said "Let's show 'em how it's done hermano. No tomorrow!"

Annabeth's POV  
"So, when are you planning on telling Percy that you've got a boyfriend?" Thalia asked me.

"What?"

"Yeah, when are you gonna tell him?" Piper asked.

I looked at the both of them with a baffled expression. "Where did this come from?" Where did this come from? Here we were enjoying our girls night in painting each others toenails and watching Teen Wolf, when it suddenly turned into an interrogation!

They shared a look and then both shrugged.

"Nowhere, just wondering." Thalia answered in a light tone.

"So... When are you gonna tell him about Derek?" Piper questioned.

"Uhh, I don't know. I guess I'll see? Why are you guys so interested anyway?"

They shared another look before Piper answered "Well, because if you don't like him -"

"How many times do I have to say this? I don't like Percy that way!" I interrupted in an exasperated tone.

Piper gave me a look but otherwise continued as if I didn't interrupt her "- then he's got a right to know that."

"Why?"

"Well other than the fact that you guys are friends, because if he likes you, he should know that he doesn't have a chance." Thalia answered.

"Okay first and for all, stop ganging up on me, it's not cool. Second and for all, Percy does not like me that way, trust me I'd know. I've been friends with the guy for six months and not once did he show any signs of liking me. Further more, I've given him plenty of opportunities to show me and so far he hasn't done anything to prove that he likes me. He doesn't like me like that" By the end of my rant I was starting to sound frustrated. Huh, that's weird.

"Let me tell you something I've learned about guys Annabeth: They're pretty stupid when it comes to subtleness. They really do not notice stuff like that. The only real way to find it if a guy likes you, is by asking them. That's pretty much the most reliable way." Piper stated.

"It's true." Thalia said in 'what-are-you-gonna-do' tone.

"It doesn't matter either way, because I'm with Derek now. You know, my boyfriend?"

"Well, so far Piper and I are the only one's that know that." Thalia mentioned.

"Fine! If it'll get the both of you off my back, I'll tell everyone about Derek on Monday okay?" I decided. "I still don't know why you guys are insisting on this." I grumbled.

"It's because we care Annabeth, it's because we care." Piper claimed.

"And also because that means you can hang out with Percy again. You get really cranky when you're not with Percy." Thalia observed.

Piper nodded in agreement "True that."

"What?" I shrieked. "I do not!" Whatever anyone tells you, I was not blushing!

"You so do! You're cranky right now!" Thalia countered.

"Yeah, it's because you're both annoying me in my own house!" I retorted.

Piper just shook her heads. "No, it's not that. You're used to that. Look Annabeth, it's totally normal. You and Percy we practically inseparable for six months, so it's normal to miss him after not seeing him as much for the past two weeks."

"I haven't really seen him for the past two weeks because I've been busy seeing Derek, you know, my boyfriend." I said pointedly. "Besides, it's not like he minds. It's not like I'm his best friend or anything. And when I tell him about Derek, he'll totally understand. I mean, I know I would."

"Soo, you're telling me that if Percy just suddenly stopped hanging out with you for two weeks, for another girl, without telling you you wouldn't be mad?" Thalia asked me in a disbelieving tone.

When you put it like that, it does sound bad. If Percy ever did that to me, I'd be pissed at him. I mean who does that? That's just mean, it's like I wasn't important enough to know about... Oh. OH. Oh gods.

"... I'm the worst friend ever, aren't I?" I concluded.

"Well... You aren't really the best right now." Piper admitted.

"Lucky for you, Percy isn't one to hold a grudge." Thalia pointed out.

"Yeah! You should call him and invite him to join girls night and you know, tell him about Derek. That way, if he's hurt you can make it up to him on Saturday." Piper exclaimed.

"I, for one, think that that is a wonderful idea." Thalia agreed.

"You guys just want to be there when I tell him." I accused.

"Can you blame us?" Thalia said.

I sighed knowing there's no use arguing from past experiences.

"Fine. I'll call him." I relented.

"Ooh, can you put him on speaker phone?" Piper asked.

"No!" I exclaimed.

"Aw, come on Annie! Please?" Thalia pleaded.

"Don't call me that!" I said.

"Only if you put him on speaker phone."

I sighed for what felt like the millionth time and relented. "Fine, fine. Would you guys like the be there the next time I go to the toilet? Because I guess I have no privacy anymore!" I ranted.

"Nah, listening to your phone conversations is enough." Piper quipped. Okay, she's definitely been spending way to much time with Thalia.

I grabbed my phone, searched for him in my contacts, took a deep breath and then I pressed call.

Percy's POV  
"No tomorrow!" I said before downing a shot with Leo. "So what's the plan, Fire man?" I asked him.

"I'm thinking we should go introduce ourselves to those two lovely ladies." He said, pointing to two girls across the room. They were beautiful, really beautiful. The girl on the left had a mane of lush black hair, coffee-brown eyes and unnaturally pale skin, kind of like the color of snow. She wore this white dress and had a silver crown atop her hair. She was talking to this girl that had red curly hair and a freckled face. But her eyes, man oh man, her eyes were absolutely amazing. They didn't seem like eyes, they could've easily been two emeralds placed on her head. She looked really cool, she wore an oversized shirt ripped jeans and black all-stars.

"She's the most dazzling girl I've ever seen." Leo told me in awe.

"Which one?" I asked.

"The one on the left. That reminds me, dibs." He said.

"Nice, I was just about to call dibs on the right one!" I said.

He just looked at me and said "Bro!" And then high fived me.

"Okay, what's our plan? How are we gonna approach them?" I asked.

"Oh, you want to think this through? I was just planning on walking up them and saying something like... 'Hey do you have a sunburn, or are you always this hot? you know."

I was torn between fist bumping him for that awesome pick up line and listening to my gut. I decided to do the latter, because somehow I don't think it would work on the cold looking girl. "You got any other?"

"Yeah, I've got like hundreds. Why? This one no good?"

"Oh, no. It's good, great even. But I don't think it'll work on that girl, just a feeling."

"Hmm, okay I trust your gut. Oh! I know, what about "Hey what's your name?"

"Okay, keeping it simple. Respect."

"I wasn't done. 'Hey, what's your name?' and then after she tells me her name and asks me for my name I'll tell her 'You can call me Pooh, 'cause all I want is you, honey.'"

"Oh my gods Leo. That's both the best and worse pick-up line I've ever heard. However I don't think pick-up lines are gonna work on your girl."

He observed her and said "You're right. She looks really classy, I guess I'll just have to use my charming personality."

"Well, you do know how to work a crowd." I agreed.

"What about you? What's your plan for red?"

"Hmm, I was thinking 'Hey, I'm Percy Jackson.'"

"Okay, good beginning so far. What's next?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I was gonna wait for her answer and then wing it."

"Percy, Percy, Percy... I will admit that your name is awesome-"

"Thank you."

"- you've got a golden opportunity here! You should use one of my patented pick-up lines, the ladies love my pick-up lines."

"Well... Okay! Which one would recommend for her?"

"Let's see... You can go with something pretty basic. So what you do is..." And then he whispered the pick-up line in my ear in case someone was listening.

"Are you sure?" I asked him in doubt.

"Bro, trust me. She'll love it."

"Okay, let's go make our move."

So we walked up to them, Leo to the girl on the left and me to the cute redhead.

"Hey, I'm Percy Jackson. Do you have a name or, should I just call you mine?"

"..."

"..."

"Are you insinuating that you own me?"

My eyes widened at that. I started stammering "No, no! Of course not! I.. I.. I don't think of women as objects!" Dammit Leo. I knew I should've just stuck to my plan.

She laughed and said "Kidding, kidding. I couldn't resist. But seriously though, you should reconsider using that pick-up line."

I blushed and said "That was mean."

"Aww... Did I hurt your feelings?"

"I think you did. I know how you can make it up to me though." I said, channeling my inner Leo.

"Oh? Really?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"By giving me a kiss." Damm, now that was smooth.

She smiled and said "And if I didn't?"

"Then I'd be sad."

"Aw... I wouldn't want be the reason you're sad." She said, leaning in. I started leaning too, when something happened. Someone threw their drink at Leo.

"How dare you! I am not hot, Leo Valdez , I am cold, very very cold!" The brown-eyed girl bellowed and then walked away. Ouch, told him not to use 'hot' lines. I told him.

"I should go, she's kind of my ride home." The green-eyed girl told me.

I wanted to say something like 'Well, if you want I can take you home. I always wanted to see heaven in person.' but Leo needs me right now.

"Yeah, okay. But remember, you owe me a kiss now." I told her.

She smiled another dazzling smile and said "Do I?"

"Yep. Next time you see me, you have to kiss me. It's kind of a rule." I said with a grin.

"I do hate breaking rules. Alright Percy Jackson, next time I see you, I'll kiss you." She said while leaving.

"Wait. I don't even know your name!" I shouted after her, but it was too late. She was already gone.

I decided to go help Leo in the bathroom.

"So... How'd it go?" I asked him.

He looked at me and said "Perce, I think I'm in love!"

"Seriously? You're in love, with the girl that just threw her drink at you?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, and she looked hot doing it."

"I...'m not gonna say anything. Congrats man, congrats."

"So.. What about you? You guys seemed to be getting really comfy last I checked. In fact, it kinda seemed like you were about to kiss."

I blushed and said "Yeah... Until we got interrupted by a girl throwing her drink at a guy."

His yes widened at that. "I'm so sorry man!"

"Nah, it's okay. She just owes me kiss now."

"What's her name? Maybe you can find her on Facebook and send her a friend request."

"I forgot to ask her. Hey this has been a pretty eventful night, wanna just go crash at Nico's?"

"Yeah, I need a shower. This girl likes her drinks sugary, I'll tell ya that."

AT NICO'S  
"Nice, nice." Nico said after I told him my encounter with Red. We decided to call her that, since we didn't know her name.

"I'm proud of you Perce, you didn't sprout a random sea fact or anything!" Nico said.

"I know, right?"

"You should come with next time." Leo told Nico.

"Oh yeah! It would be so awesome!" I exclaimed.

"I'll think about it." Nico said.

Then my phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and started freaking out, for no reason really.

"Guys... Annabeth's calling me!" I shouted.

"What? Why would she call you? Wasn't she ignoring you?" Leo asked confusedly.

"I don't know! I thought she was!" I shouted. "What do I do? What do I do?"

"Here's an idea: How about answering the phone?" Nico instructed.

"Good idea!" Leo said. "And put on speakerphone!"

"Oh yeah, nice touch Valdez."

I took a deep breath and said "Yeah, yeah. That makes sense. I don't even know why I'm panicking, it's not like I did anything wrong.

Then I pressed on answer.

* * *

 **Oooh, I'm so evil. It could've been worse though, I could've ended at a worse cliffhanger. So yeah... That happened. As promised a new chapter on Wednesday. What did you guys think of it? Loved it? Hated it? Didn't care for it? Please let me know, so that I can improve as a writer. I basically just write the way I talk, so I'm not always 100% sure if my sentences make sense. I'm thinking that the next chapter will come out on Friday, probably. Thanks to all f the people that have reviewed so far or will review in the future, you guys are awesome. Reviews not only let me know that someone's reading it, but also that they cared enough to actually write something about it. I still find that really amazing, so thank you.**

 **And NONAME2002: It's okay, we all have those moments. Hell, I get them at least 5 times a day! Also, thanks for this review. I almost forgot about R.E.D! And nice play on words, sir, nice play on words. Chapeau.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Annabeth's POV  
"Hello?" Percy said.

Thalia and Piper started giggling in the background.

"Shut up!" I hissed at them.

"Uhh... Hello? Is anyone there, or am I currently speaking to someone's ass?"

"Hey Percy!" I said quickly.

"Annabeth! You didn't happen to hear what I said before, did you?"

"Nope, and neither did my ass." I teased. I couldn't pass up that opportunity. Thalia and Piper stuffed their faces in pillows, laughing their asses off.

"Oh gods." I could practically see him blush on the other side. The mental image made me smile. "Moving on... What's up? Why'd you call me?" He said, changing the subject.

"Oh right. Well, it's been a while since we last hung out together, so I was uhh, I was wondering if you'd... If you'd like to, I don't know, maybe kinda sorta come over?"

Oh gods, what the hell is wrong with me? Why am I stuttering? I never stutter, ever. And why am I so nervous? It's just Percy. Seaweed Brain, remember? It's not like I'm even asking him out on a date! Get a grip!

"Umm, could you repeat that? I didn't really get the question." Was his reply.

Steeling my nerves, and avoiding Thalia and Piper's gazes, I said "I was wondering if you'd like to join me, Thalia and Piper on girl's night."

"Ohh, uhh, yeah sure. If you're not busy, then sure. When?" Ouch. I deserved that comment. That's been my excuse whenever he wanted to hang out. 'Can't hang out, I'm busy'.

"Right now?"

Percy's POV  
"Right now?" She said/asked uncertainly.

My eyes widened at that. She wants me to come over, right now? What do I do? What do I say? I've gotta stall for time.

"Umm, could you give me a second? I've got to check something."

"Sure, yeah. I can wait, no hurry."

I put the phone on mute and looked at Nico and Leo and said "Okay. Okay. Okay. What do I do now?"

"Well, if it weren't for the fact that she had a boyfriend, it would almost seem like a booty call." Nico speculated.

"Bro, it's the middle of the night and she's asking you to come over. That's definitely a booty call." Leo said.

My eyes widened at that. "You really think so?"

"I'd be willing to bet my favorite screwdriver it is. I mean, she's only like ten minutes away from this house." Leo said seriously.

"Hold on. She also said that Piper and Thalia was there. What does that mean?" I said confused.

"Maybe she was using girls night as an excuse." Nico exclaimed.

"Yeah, like when a girl invites you to a party that no one else is invited to!" Leo added.

I laughed and said "You guys aren't being serious right now? Right?"

"Dead serious." Nico deadpanned. Leo just nodded his head solemnly.

"But why would she call me for a booty call in the first place? She's got a boyfriend now, remember? Derek?"

"Yeah, but what if Derek sucks in bed?" Leo proposed.

"Dude, I'm a virgin. I'm pretty sure that if Derek sucks in bed that I wouldn't be any better." I pointed out.

"Right, right. But what if Derek screwed up, like cheat on her?" Nico theorized.

"Oohh, that's a lot better than my theory!" Leo said while giving him a high five.

"Okay, let's assume that's true for a second. What do I do?" I wondered.

"Isn't it obvious? You go over there and get the girl for once." Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, but that's not the plan. The plan is to get Thalia-"

"Oh screw the plan." Nico interrupted. "You've been following the plan for 6 months and you're no closer to being Thalia's boyfriend than you were 6 months ago. Screw the plan. Sometimes the person we want to be with isn't the right person. Annabeth may really need you right now. Do you really want to leave her waiting any longer, or do you want to go over there with a bottle of wine and make her feel better?"

"Uhh, guys. I hate to interrupt to crucial moment, but we've been arguing for like ten minutes and Annabeth is still probably waiting on the other line." Leo announced.

Oh shit! Annabeth! I grabbed my phone and un-muted it.

"Hey Annabeth, you still there?" I asked.

"Yup. So.. You coming over or what?"

Ah, the million dollar question. I said the first thing that popped into my mind "Yeah, see you in a few. Bye." And then I hung up.

I looked at the guys and said "What did I just do?"

Annabeth's POV  
"Bye bye." I said but he already hung up.

"There you guys happy now?" I told Thalia and Piper.

They shared a happy look before saying simultaneously "Very."

"Sometimes, I really wonder why I'm friends with you guys." I grumbled.

"I just thought of something. What if Percy thinks that this is a booty call?" Piper wondered.

"What? I doubt Percy even knows what a booty call is." Thalia joked.

"Plus, why would I him for a booty call? I've got a boyfriend, remember?"

"You know that and I know that, but he doesn't know that." Piper retorted.

"That kind of makes sense." Thalia said.

"Um it doesn't actually. If this was a booty call, then why would I mention your names?" I articulated.

"So that it isn't an obvious booty call?" Thalia suggested.

I rolled my eyes at them and said "You guys are idiots. Idiots, that are gonna get more pizza's"

"What? Why?" Piper asked.

"Because I got the last batch and because we have another guest coming, that you all insisted on inviting. Don't forget: Meat-lovers pizza for me!" I answered.

They both grumbled but got up and left to go get the pizza's. Alone at last... Would Percy really think of this as a booty call? Did it seem like a booty call? Oh gods, do I want it to have been a... Nope. Not gonna finish that thought. Think about Derek. Derek with his dar raven hair, jawline that could cut glass and his amazing sea-green eyes- Wait I meant blue. Derek has blue eyes. Not sea-green. And then I started thinking about the only person that I knew that had sea-green eyes. Before my mind could wander off to uncharted territory, someone rang the doorbell.

I got up, thinking that it was Piper and Thalia with the pizza, so I opened the door and greeted them with a "Finally! I'm starving, I need me some meat!"

And then I saw Percy standing there. Not Thalia. Not Piper. Oh gods, could this get any worse?

Percy's POV  
"Finally! I'm starving, I need me some meat!" Annabeth exclaimed.

My eyes widened at that. They were right! This was a booty call! Holy crap, of all the times not to bring a condom! I didn't really think they were gonna be right! What do I do? I should just play it cool. And stop blushing.

I scratched behind my neck and said "All I got wass wine. I didn't know you wanted..." I gulped and said "Meat."

She was so red, that I was sure that a tomato would've been jealous of her and squeaked "Percy! I didn't know you'd be here this fast! I thought you were someone else!"

I raised an eyebrow at that "Like, someone with meat?"

She blushed even harder if that was possible and said "No! Well, yes! I mean.. Let me start over. I thought you were Piper with my meat-lovers pizza."

"Oh, yeah I get that a lot actually. People have told me that I look eerily similar to Piper." I said, to diffuse the awkward tension in the room. It worked.

She laughed and then punched me in the shoulder. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain! Come on, let's get you in something more comfortable. It's a girls-night-in rule, comfortable clothes ONLY."

Holy shit! Is she trying to undress me? "Uhh, no thanks. My clothes, are really comfortable right now."

She looked at me skeptically. "Right because nothing says comfort like a button up dress shirt and jeans."

I gulped. I couldn't argue with that. "Well, I don't have anything else so... Yeah. I'll just keep my clothes, you know, on."

"Follow me, I think I've got some jogging pants that you can follow. And maybe I can dig up a shirt that you could fit in." Without giving me time to answer, she just grabbed my arm and dragged me up to her room. Every teenage boys dream.

She left me standing in the middle of the room and went trough her clothes in her closet. After a minute or two of me looking at her pictures and her looking for some clothes, she finally found what she was looking for.

"Here, grab these. You can change in my bathroom over there." She said, pointing me to the right way. I set down the bottle of whine and went to get changed.

"Umm, I think the shirts a little small." I said through the bathroom door.

"What? Are you sure?" Was her answer.

I looked down at the white t-shirt that was hugging my muscles, looking like it was about to burst and said "Yeah... I'm pretty sure." I came out and entered her bedroom to show her.

"It looks like it fits." She said confused.

I sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." I mumbled and then I flexed my muscles. The shirt burst, like I predicted. "See? Told you it was small."

I got no reply from Annabeth. "Annabeth?" I said, looking up. All I saw was her staring at my naked upper body. I came closer and held my hands in front of her eyes. "Annabeth? "I repeated. "You all right?"

That seemed to have woken her from her trance. "Yep. Yep, I'm good, really good. I'm just, hot, is it hot in here?"

I looked at her weirdly and said "Umm.. No not really. Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded her head and said "Yes.. What is taking them so long? I'm starving!"

"For some meat?" I asked, because come on. I couldn't pass up this opportunity!

She became beet red and said "Shut up!"

"You know, you can look if you want. I don't mind." I said casually.

"What?" She choked out.

"I said you can look if you want." Looking down at my chest. "I mean, there isn't really anything to see in my opinion, but if you want to look, I'm not gonna stop you." It's true, I did have a six pack but it wasn't really that obvious, unless I had the right kind of lighting.

"Psh, why would I even want to look? It looks disgusting." It would've been believable, if she wasn't looking down.

I smirked and said "You've got a point! So how about you go look for shirt for me?"

"Huh?"

"You know, to hide my 'disgusting' body?"

"Riight, yeah. I'm gonna go look for a shirt."

"You go do that."

"I will."

"Then go." With every sentence we each took a step forward, until we were standing right in front of each other.

"On my way."

"Hurry up." I don't know how it happened, but suddenly we were both starting to lean in. Our noses were touching, eyes were closing and lips getting closer. Right when we were about to kiss we heard the doorbell. We both jumped away from each other, panting and red faced.

"I'll get it!" I said. Anything to get away from Annabeth and this room. Oh my gods, were we... Where we about to kiss? What is wrong with me? She's got a boyfriend. A boyfriend! It's cool, we didn't really kiss, we probably would've pulled away at the last moment on our own. Right?

I opened the door greeted Piper and Thalia. "Hey guys! Great timing! Annabeth was craving meat!"

They both stared at me wide-eyed, or more specifically, at my still naked chest. I started blushing, damn I forgot about that.

"Seems to me like she had plenty of meat right here." Thalia declared.

My face became even hotter. "Annabeth gave me shirt, but it uh it kind of broke." I explained.

"Did it break because she ripped it off, or...?" Piper questioned.

"No!" Damn, you could cook eggs on my face with how hot it felt. "It was too small, so when I flexed, it just broke."

Annabeth came down and threw a shirt at my face and said "There, that should fit you. It's one of my dads. Hey guys, great timing. I'm starving! Let's eat!"

-Line Break-

"So, not that this isn't fun or anything." I started, because we've been eating pizza silently for 10 minutes now, "because it is. But umm.. Is there a reason you invited me Annabeth?"

She held up a finger and kept on chewing her pizza. I waited patiently, because I really did want to know why she asked me to come over, if it wasn't for a booty call.

She gulped down her pizza and said "What? Can't I ask my friend to come over unexpectedly and eat pizza with him?"

"Not if you ignore and avoid him for two weeks." I said.

"Okay, that's fair. I deserved that."

"We're gonna go to the bathroom." Piper announced awkwardly, grabbing Thalia on her way out.

"What's the real reason you wanted me to come here tonight?"

"Because..." She took a deep breath and said "Because I needed to talk to you. I want to tell you why I've been avoiding you for the past two week. It's because..."

"... you have a boyfriend?" I finished for her.

"Yes! How did you know that?"

I looked away and answered. "Because I saw you guys, in the park."

"What were you doing in the park."

"I was.. looking for you actually."

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Because I was gonna... Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore."

"No tell me! I want to know."

I shook my head at that. "No, it's really not that important. It was stupid of me. Trust me, okay? You didn't have to avoid me you know. You could've just told me you were hanging out with you boyfriend. Why'd you hide him from me anyway?" I said to change the subject.

"Because.. I don't know. Maybe I was scared you'd be overprotective of me or something."

"Only if he gave me a reason to." I told her seriously. "Now, what's the real reason you've been avoiding me?"

"I guess... I guess I was scared you'd stop being my friend once you found out I was dating Derek."

My eyes widened at that. "Why on earth would you think that?"

"Because.. I don't know. Everyone kept on telling me that you liked me and that I liked you and I guess I was getting sick and tired of it. And.. And.."

"Hey, hey, Annabeth. Look at me. Look at me. I've got the same problem. People keep telling me that too, and it sucks. But you wanna know what sucks even more? Not seeing you. These past two weeks have been awful without our daily fights. You know I'd never leave you, ever. You can ignore me for two weeks, avoid me for two weeks and try to push me away, but I'll still be there. Life sucks for this Seaweed Brain, without his Wise Girl."

She smiled at me and said "You're a great friend, you know that? "

Friend. A word that many, many, MANY girls use or have used to describe me. I'm really starting to get sick and tired of that word.

I plastered a fake smile on my face, shrugged and said "I try."

"No seriously, you're a great friend Percy. I feel so relieved now, I can talk freely about Derek and even ask you for advice! I'm so glad you're okay with this!"

Oh dear gods what have I done? "Yeah... Great!"

"I want you to meet him."

"What."

"I want you to meet him. Tomorrow, and I won't take no for an answer!" She said with a determined look in her eyes.

Ah crap, I know that look. There's no convincing her otherwise.

I sighed and said

"What time?"

* * *

 **Aaaaand we're done. Another day, another chapter, another filler... Sorry about that guys, this was the best I could do. I must've rewritten this chapter like five times, and I'm still not happy with the result. I promise you, that the next chapter will not be another filler. Anyway, please tell me what YOU though of this chapter and what you think I could improve on. Or hey, if you have an idea for the story, I'm always open to suggestions. I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, but understand if you didn't. I'm thinking that the next chapter will come out by Sunday the latest.**

 **To Guest: Thank you so much. To be honest with you, I don't really know what's gonna happen in the next chapter either:.) So far, I've just been winging it. The only thing I'm fairly certain about is the ending, and even that isn't set in stone. I find myself rethinking the ending at least one a day. And thank you! I write the way I speak.**

 **To BECKENDORK: Oh my gods! Happy Birthday! I'm glad that you enjoy my story so much, that to you a new chapter is a gift! Hope you had a great birthday! Love your name btw! :)**

 **To all of the other people that reviewed or will review or are reviewing: Thank you! So much! It means a lot to me that you guys not only took the time to read my story, but also typed in your thoughts. It means a lot to me! So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.**

 **Wow, that was really awkward and touchy feely there. I feel like we should hug, to get rid f this awkward moment. Nope, that just made it worse. I'm just gonna go now, before I embarrass myself even more. See you guys.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Percy's POV  
"You agreed to do what?!" Came Nico's voice.

The girls were inside arguing over which movie to watch: The Notebook or The First Time with Dylan O'Brien. Naturally, they didn't take any of my suggestions into account, because it's GIRLS NIGHT, not guys night. And because they want to torture me, I know it. So instead of sitting there listening to their argument about who's hotter: Ryan Gosling or Dylan O'Brien I decided to call Nico and Leo for advice. I probably shouldn't have put them on speakerphone.

"I agreed to meet her boyfriend tomorrow." I mumbled. I could practically see him shake his head at that.

"Percy, Percy, Percy... Where did I go wrong with him?" I assumed he was talking to Leo now.

"Give him a break, trust me. It's hard to think when a girl doesn't have her shirt on." Leo defended. "The important part, is that our boy Perce here, got some."

"Uhh, yeah. About that... Turn out it wasn't a booty call after all." I said sheepishly.

"What." Leo said.

I cleared my throat and said "Yeah, she really did want to just talk to me."

"No booty?"

"Well... There was this.. Weird moment I guess." I said.

"What weird moment we talking about here? Weird as in, she tried to sacrifice you to Aztec gods weird? Or weird as in she asked you to buy her tampons weird?" Nico inquired.

"Uhh..."

"Or was it weird as in she offered you deer carcass weird?" Leo added.

"Okay, seriously? Those are my options?" I asked incredulously, because seriously?

"Choose whichever's closest to the weird moment, so we can get a general idea." Nico explained.

"Can't I just tell you the weird moment directly instead? Wouldn't that be infinitely easier?" I reasoned.

"Bro, can you just... Can you just... Okay?" Leo said exasperatedly, as if I was the one being unreasonable.

I sighed and said "Fine, fine. I guess it was... weird as in she tried to sacrifice me to Aztec gods weird."

"Seriously? What happened?" Nico and Leo exclaimed simultaneously.

"Well, I was half naked-" I started.

"Oh, it is on for my boy Perce!" Leo whooped.

"So far so good." Nico commented.

"Guys, can I please finish my story?" I said exasperatedly. After I heard their apologies and promises not to interrupt I continued. "So anyway, as I was saying, I was half naked because apparently on girls-night in, you have to wear comfortable clothes only and-"

"Well, being naked is the most comfortable kind of clothes." Leo noted.

"True, true. Nothing more comfortable than nothing." Nico agreed.

"Okay, seriously? You guys just promised to shut your traps till the end. You guys just promised me." I protested.

They muttered their apologies and let me finish. "So anyway, the shirt she gave me was too small and broke and she kept on staring at my chest. Then there was this weird tension and I don't know how, but suddenly we were standing right in front of each other, leaning in. So we're about to kiss and right before our lips made contact, the doorbell rang."

"And?" Leo and Nico practically shout.

"And then it was over. I opened it, put on a shirt and that was it. And now it's like it never happened and I'm meeting her boyfriend tomorrow for lunch and I don't know what to do. So that's why I called you guys. I need your advice."

"That was closer to buying her tampons weird, than human sacrifice weird." Was Leo's not-so-helpful response.

"That's not the point I-" I tried to say but got interrupted by Nico.

"-No way! It's definitely closer to offering deer carcass weird!"

Before they could start bickering I said "Okay, guys not the point!.. And it's definitely closer to human sacrifice weird!" I couldn't help it. They were way off.

"What? In what universe is almost-kissing more similar to human sacrifice than buying her tampons?" Leo exploded.

"Um, in this one. Human sacrifices were done in nothing but a loin cloth. I was half naked. I rest my case." I explained.

"Be that as it may, buying her tampons is the right choice here. I mean, come on. Buying a girl tampons is personal and uncomfortable. So is kissing a girl." Leo argued.

"Not if your doing it right." I quipped.

"Ladies, ladies. You're both pretty." Nico announced. "However, you're both wrong too. It's definitely closer to offering deer carcass weird. You see when a girl offers a guy a deer carcass-"

"What are you guys talking about?" Annabeth asked.

I froze up and apparently so did Leo and Nico in the other side because he stopped talking. Oh shit, how much did she hear? Oh gods, oh gods. Okay Percy, focus.

"Annabeth! Hey Annabeth.. What's uhh.. What's up?" I tried to say casually.

"Umm, well I came here to tell you that we chose a movie to watch, only to find you talking to Leo and Nico about human sacrifices, tampons and eating deer carcasses?" Was her reply.

I flushed and said "Umm... Yeah. They called me and uhh... Yeah.."

"You know what? I don't even wanna know. It sounds like you guys have got some serious issues to work out. The movie starts in five minutes, so yeah.."

"Okay, okay cool. See you then!" I shouted after her.

"Dammit guys. We completely wasted our time arguing over something that wasn't even important, and now it's too late to ask you guys for advice. I'll hopefully see you guys tomorrow." And then I hung up and went inside to watch... Sigh, The First Time. Oh boy, this is gonna be a long night...

-Line Break-

So, yeah. The movie wasn't half bad. Don't tell anyone, but I kinda sorta really enjoyed it. It wasn't like other movies, where their first time is this mind-blowing perfect experience, that no one could live up to. It was realistic. The first time won't always be great, but it can get better. And for a virgin like me, that is something I sometimes forget. And I kinda liked the fact that the guy didn't end up with the girl he thought he would. It spoke to me, but I don't know why.

Anyway I'm currently at Nico's, helping the guys, Nico, Leo and Jason (he came over because he was bored), study math. Oh, and to get their advice on what to wear (I filled Jason in on what's happening), because I'm meeting Annabeth's boyfriend today. Yeah, we're going to the movies and then maybe have dinner together. I am not looking forward to being a third wheel.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask again: Do you guys have any advice, any advice at all, that could help me right now?" I asked them.

"Uh yeah. Don't go." Jason said.

Leo and Nico both agreed.

"I can't just not go.. I promised her I'd go, because I'm her friend." I explained for the millionth time.

"You could still be her friend and not be a third wheel on their date, you know." Nico commented.

"Well, it's a little late. She already told Derek, so now if I don't go it'll seem like I'm scared and he wins." I explained.

"Hmm.. quite a pickle you're in Perce. There's only one possible option here: Bring a date of your own." Jason advised.

"Yeah... That could work! That way, you're still a good friend to Annabeth, but not a third wheel!" Nico exclaimed.

"Okay, that actually sounds like it might work. One problem though: I don't have a date." I pointed out.

"Minor detail. Easily fixed." Jason said.

"Yeah, for you maybe." I shot back. "What about for us guys, that don't have a panty melting smile?"

"Bro, don't worry. You totally have a panty melting smile. I'd know, I'm the expert when it comes to girls. And we'll get you a date, I mean when do you even have to meet them?" Leo asked.

"In thirty minutes." I said looking at my watch.

"Thirty minutes?! You only ask us now for advice?!" Nico exploded.

"Well if you guys didn't waste my time yesterday with deer carcasses and tampons and human sacrifices, then maybe we would've already come up with an answer by then!" I shouted.

"Deer carcasses? Tampons? HUMAN SACRIFICES?! What the fuck did I miss yesterday? More importantly, what the fuck did you guys DO last night?!" Jason shouted to no one in particular. "I miss one guys night out and suddenly I missed everything.." Jason mumbled quietly.

We ignored him for now. "What do I do? It's too late to get a date now!" I asked them.

"Well, I might know this girl. I could hook you guys up." Nico added.

"Yeah, I might know a couple of girls too." Jason agreed.

"Well, I definitely know a couple of girls." Leo confirmed.

And then they were on their phones making calls to girls and asking them out for me. This must be what true friendship looks like. Unfortunately, they came up with nothing.

"It's okay guys, I appreciate the effort. It's the gesture that counts anyway." I told them. "Okay, I have to go. Wish me luck!"

-Line Break-

I hate couples. They're so nauseatingly affectionate, with their compliments and the giggling and the touching, it makes me want to puke.

I met Derek, he seems like a nice guy... But I still hate him. I just don't have a good feeling about him. I don't know what it is. I hate him. He's just sooo perfect, with his tattoos and piercings and badass car. And who is that smooth? Seriously, he could pick up a widower at a funeral. It's disgusting.

So we're currently at the movies, the movie just ended, and Derek is telling us about the time he beat up this mugger, because he's just that perfect, and all I want to do is shoot myself because of how Annabeth is looking at him. The way she looks at him, made me feel.. I don't know. Uncomfortable? No. That's not the word. The word was jealous.

I knew I shouldn't have come. She barely even spoke three words to me whenever Derek is around, which so far, has been always. Seriously, he won't leave me alone with her for two seconds.

"... and then the police came and congratulated me, because apparently they've been looking for this guy for months now." He concluded.

"Wow." Annabeth said in awe. "You're amazing! Isn't he amazing Perce?" She said, turning to me.

"Yeah! Totally amazing!" I said, trying my best to return her smile.

She frowned at my tone, but didn't say anything else.

"I had a really great time Perce!" Derek announced. Perce. He only calls me Perce. Not Percy, Perce. And I hate it. Only my friends call me that and Derek is not my friend.

"Yeah, it was definitely something." I muttered back.

Annabeth shot me a look but didn't say anything else.

"Hey, I'm starving. You guys wanna eat? I know this great pizza place we could go to." Derek suggested. Oh gods, I thought this nightmare was over.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! Right Percy?" Annabeth said.

I frowned, about to decline, when I was reminded of the night before and how I promised her I'd stay till the end.

Damn. Now I can't decline. Sigh, I guess this night isn't over yet.

"No, I guess not. I'd love to-" I started, but then the most amazing thing happened.

I got interrupted, by a girl who kissed me. Yeah, you heard me. She ran up to me, but I didn't see her cause I was looking at Annabeth. She ran up to me, grabbed my tie and kissed me. I was too shocked to do anything, so I just stood still for a second, but then my senses kicked in and I kissed her back. Afterwards, she pulled away and I got a better look at her. It was that redheaded girl from the club!

"It's you!" I exclaimed.

She just smiled and said "As promised, a kiss."

"Did I say one kiss? Because I meant to say two!"

She laughed at that and said "Don't push your luck Jackson!"

"Can't blame a guy for trying now, can you? I mean, have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" I said, looking at her up and down.

"So you're saying it's my fault then?"

I leaned in. "Yeah, what're you gonna do about it?" I challenged her with an eyebrow raised.

She grabbed my tie and kissed me again, and my mind went blank. Suddenly, this night didn't seem that bad. We probably would've stayed like that, if Annabeth didn't clear her throat. We both parted from the kiss and looked at Annabeth and Derek. For a second there I forgot that they were there. Annabeth had this look in her eyes that I couldn't quite place, but Derek just looked uncomfortable.

"So, you mind telling me who this is, Percy?" Annabeth demanded.

"Uhh, yeah. This is... um.." I started, but then realized I didn't even know her name.

"Rachel." She introduced herself. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Or Red for short, as some friends call me." Holy crap! What a coincidence! That was our codename for her!

"Really?" I said in awe. "That's a really pretty name. I mean, this is Rachel. I knew that. Rachel, this is Annabeth my friend and that guy over there is Derek, her boyfriend." I introduced everyone.

Rachel gave them a small smile and said "Nice to meet you guys. I swear, I don't just kiss every guy I know! I just owed Percy a kiss."

"Oh." Annabeth started. "Yeah, that's not weird at all." She said sarcastically.

I frowned at her but didn't say anything. Instead I turned to Rachel ad asked her what she was doing here.

"I just watched this movie with my friend Khione, the girl that threw her drink at your friend, and then I saw you." She answered. "We're going to this club, you wanna come with?"

I was about to say 'Hell yeah!' but then Annabeth answered for me. "Actually, we sorta already had plans. So, yeah sorry but he can't make it."

I gave her a 'what-the-hell?' look, because seriously. This super hot girl wants me, that's right WANTS me, to go to a club with her.

"It's okay, I think you should go." Derek said. I looked at him, because that's kinda cool of him. Annabeth however, glared at him. "Oh, come on babe. He should go, it's not like we had anything else planned after dinner. Besides, that way we'll be all alone." He told Annabeth with a roguish smile. Yuck. I take it back, this guy isn't cool. Can't believe I thought that for a second! Rachel went to her car and said she'd wait for me.

She just begrudgingly nodded, but still looked doubtful when she said in a pissed of voice "I guess so.. It's your choice Percy."

Had you asked me last month what I'd choose: A night with Annabeth, watching a movie and eating pizza or a night with a beautiful girl at a club, I would've chosen the first option. I really would.

If you asked me why, I wouldn't have been able to give you a straight answer. Maybe something like 'Cause I hate clubs' or 'I'd probably be tired anyway' or some other bullshit excuse, but no real answer. But tonight, I realized why that is. The warm fluttering feeling I got whenever I was around her, the smile I only with her, the jealousy... I like Annabeth. Oh gods... I really like Annabeth. I looked at her, really looked at her and suddenly I wondered how I didn't notice how beautiful she was. My eyes widened at my epiphany. Holy crap. I'm in love with this girl. Hopelessly irretrievably irrevocably in love with her.

"Umm.. Percy? Are you okay?" Annabeth asked me concernedly.

"Yeah, yeah. Totally cool. Annabeth, I-"

She sighed and interrupted me "Look, if you really wanna go, then I won't hold it against you. You've been a great friend, you didn't have to come today but you did. So if you want to go to the club with Rachel, then you should go. It's not like you're leaving me alone or anything, you'll just be leaving me with my boyfriend on a date." And then she walked away from me, to Derek. And I let her.

She has a boyfriend. I think I just felt my heart break at that thought. No, I know I felt my heart break at that thought. I lost my chance, two weeks ago in a park to be exact. I'm so stupid! My heart has been screaming at me, and I didn't listen. And now it's too late. I should have listened to Leo, but nooooo, I just had to be stubborn didn't I? I looked at Annabeth and Derek, and how he's making her laugh right now and I made my decision. I went to the club with Rachel, and I drank. A lot. Tonight, I realized that the girl of my dreams has been standing right in front of me, for six fucking months. Tonight lost that girl I because I'm a blind idiot. Tomorrow, I'll remember.

Tonight, I want to forget.

* * *

 **Another** **chapter, because you guys really wanted one. Is it me, or are these chapters generally becoming longer? Sorry if it isn't the best, I kinda just make this all up as I go. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, if not please don't hesitate to tell me. After all: We learn from our mistakes, not our success. The next chapter won't come out till Tuesday, because I have my theoretic driving exam on Tuesday and I really** **need to study. Thanks to everyone that reviewed, or is reviewing right now, or will review! I really appreciate it.**

 **To Guest: Thank you! At the rate the story's progressing, the ending probably won't come 'till I'm like 20. (Joking, but seriously do you guys think this story is slow paced? Because sometimes, I do. Most of the time actually.)**

 **To another Guest: Thank you! I try. I really loved writing Thalia and Piper's reactions it wasn't that hard, because honestly that's probably how I'd react. This soon enough for you? ;)**

 **To Guardian's Dragon Of Death:... You probably shouldn't read this chapter... Or you might end you hating me. Kidding, but seriously I promise you that it'll get better for Percy.**

 **To BECKENDORK: You're welcome! Coincidentally, my mom's birthday was also yesterday. And I'm glad you enjoyed your birthday! I guess I don't really like the last chapter because I feel like I sort of ramble a lot and get distracted from the plot. And sometimes I feel like I'm making this story slow-paced because of the amount of fillers I write.**

 **To yet another Guest: Imma be honest with you: I don't really like writing about smoking and drinking. In fact, whenever I reread my past chapters, I cringe. Hard. But, it's kinda crucial to the story, you'll see. So bear with me for a while, and hopefully it'll be worth it in the end.**

 **To another Guest: Yup. Here yo go!**

 **To NONAME2002: Here bro, this soon enough for ya :) ? Nice birth date, btw! Although technically, isn't every birthday a day of love? I mean, think about it. It's the day you're parents made you, and most of the time it involves love. Or at least making love. And I heard that that's pretty wonderful, most of the times. What are your plans for your birthday? Big party? Small get-together Let me know how it goes! I hope you enjoy this chapter, if not: Don't worry bro, a new one's coming on your birthday and I promise to try and make it better. Thanks, and you take care too!**

 **To PoppyOhare: Damn girl! You've reviewed on every single one of my chapters, without fail! that's called dedication, and I salute you for it! I want you to know, that I appreciate it!**

 **Okay, I think that's everyone, so I'll see you guys in the next one! Till then: Take care, don't die.**

 **P.s There was this part where it said _He could pick up a widow at a wedding._ Yeah that's wrong and doesn't even make sense. I reread this chapter and corrected a couple of mistakes, my apologies to you all!**

 **P.p.s Since there still seemed to be a lot of suggestions from you guys in the review on who Percy should end up with, I decided to open the poll once more. So, it'll give me a grander idea of what the majority wants to see happen. Cause honestly, I can see him end up with anyone really, if I try hard enough. So, yeah if you could go on my profile and vote, that would be great and helpful! Thanks in advance!... That's it I guess.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Percy's POV  
I didn't remember anything.

When I woke up this morning, I woke up half naked in my own bed with a hangover that felt like death. All I remembered from last night, was a flash of red and drinks. Lots and lots of drinks. Why was I drinking so much anyway? Before I could even think about trying to remember, I heard someone groan beside me. I thought maybe I was hearing things, until I saw that I had three arms on me instead of two.

Wait. What. I counted again, and yes, there was in fact three hands currently on my upper body. I slowly turned my head, hoping that I was maybe dreaming, or crazy or something. I saw a girl with messy red hair, wearing my button up shirt from last night. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods... Did I.. Did we? I shot up from my bed, big mistake. My head was pounding like a jackhammer.

What the fuck did I do last night?!

"Mmm... Percy, come back to bed. Is too early..." The girl mumbled. Rachel! That was her name, Rachel!

"Uhh... Hey, sorry to wake you up, but uhh... what.. What the hell happened last night? Did I... Did we..? I mean-"

"Did we have sex?" She finished, gradually waking up.

I gulped. "Yeah..."

She yawned, and said "You'll have to get some food in me first, if you want to know. I'm starving."

I blinked at that. "Umm... Can't you just, I don't know, answer me with a yes or a no?"

She smiled and said "Nope." Damn, why can't the people in my life just give me straight answers?

I sighed and asked her "What do you want for breakfast?"

-Line Break_

So I made her breakfast. Don't look at me like that! I know how to cook, it's on of my hidden talents. This particular one came in handy whenever my parents were too busy with work to cook. Like now. I also served Nico's Hangover Cure, it still tastes awful, but I can't argue with results.

"Here you go." I said, placing the purple concoction in front of her.

"Umm, what is that?" She asked with her nose scrunched up. Yeah, it's probably 'cause of the smell.

"Something that'll cure your hangover. Trust me, it's for the best that you don't know what's in it. I still have nightmares about it." I replied, suppressing a shudder.

"Oh gods, what is that? It tastes like shit!" She yelped after taking a sip.

"It gets better with each sip." Yeah, that's a lie. But she wouldn't drink more if I didn't lie.

"Oh gods, I think it just got worse! Why the hell would you let me drink that?!"

"Well, do you still have a headache?"

"... No. But I don't think my taste buds will ever be the same again!"

I shrugged. "You'll get used to it. And you can always wash it out with the food. Now, on to the million dollar question: Did we... How do I put this delicately? Did we sleep together last night?"

"Yup."

"Wait. What. Seriously?! Shit! Crap! Damn, I can't believe-"

"Okay, not gonna lie. I'm low key offended by your reaction. However, we didn't have sex last night." She interrupted me.

"What? But you just said yes to-"

"Yeah, to us SLEEPING together. No sex. Just sleep." She stressed.

I felt relieved at that. It must've shown on my face because after that she asked me "Okay, I've got to know. Is the thought of having sex with me THAT bad?"

My eyes widened at that. "No, no, no, no no! Of course not!"

"Then why are you so happy that we didn't do it?" She demanded.

"It's because, uhh.. Because I'd want to sorta kinda remember my... my first time." I mumbled quietly, blushing.

"What?"

"I'm a... Well, I never had..."

"Wait.. Are you telling me that you're a... A virgin?" She gasped out.

I blushed even harder. "Well, I guess technically.. I could sorta kinda be classified as a virgin."

"Oh wow.. I didn't know. I'm sorry I was so pushy, I just-"

"It's okay." I interrupted her. "I'm a virgin, I'm not dying."

She laughed uneasily. "So, what now?"

"I think, we should have breakfast now. I don't know about you, but thinking I lost my virginity without remembering the experience, really worked up an appetite."

She smiled and suddenly everything didn't seem half as bad. It's not great right now, but somehow her smile made think that I'll be okay. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day I'll be okay.

-Line Break-

Rachel stayed for about two hours, but afterwards she had to go to her work. Here's something I didn't know about her: She's in college. Yeah, you heard me. Rachel is in college. She's 18. Now here's something she doesn't know, I'm not in college. Yeah... In fact, somehow she's convinced that I'm a student at NYU majoring in Marine Biology. I don't know why I lied. This won't end well, will it? Might as well catch up on my schoolwork.

Annabeth's POV  
"So, how was your, uhh, outing with Percy and Derek?" Thalia asked me. She came over to study, so of course we ended up on the couch watching Teen Wolf.

"Pretty good, pretty good." I answered noncommittally.

"Yeah? So what does Percy think of him?"

"Umm, not sure. I didn't really ask him."

"How could you not ask him?" She said incredulously.

"It never came up. Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Because if Percy likes him, then I can get a general idea on what kind of person he is. I never met the guy, you know. Why haven't I met him?" She asked me accusingly.

"Because I know you, and I actually like this guy."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you're incredibly overprotective and scare off every guy you meet."

"Not my fault all of your past boyfriends scare easily." She mumbled.

I shot her a look. "I'm serious Thals, I really like this guy."

"Why?"

"I guess I got tired of waiting... I want to see where this is going. And I can't do that with you hovering behind my shoulders."

She brought her hands up. "Okay, okay. I'll back off. For now, But I still want to meet the guy. I promise I won't ask him too many questions."

"I don't know.."

"Please?"

"..."

"Eh, we'll have to meet him eventually."

"WE?"

"Yeah, now that Percy knows about Derek so will Nico and Leo, then Jason, Frank, Grover and Hazel. Trust me, on Monday everyone will bugging you about it."

My eyes widened at that. Damn, I didn't think of that! All I thought about was making sure Percy and I were still friends. I did not think this through. Why do I lose all forms of logic when Percy's involved? What's up with that?

"Oh gods..."

"Monday will be fun."

* * *

 **Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you had a nice one, if not then don't worry. Neither did I :) Single club right here. Sorry for the short chapter, I'm just super tired. I stayed up late last night studying for my driving exam, but it was worth it! I passed! 44/50! To make up for this short filler, I will post a new chapter Wednesday. I'll admit this isn't my best work, I wrote it when I was tired, so I apologise in advance if this chapter is unsatisfying. I had some trouble writing it. Please tell me what you thought of it, I love hearing your thoughts. Thanks for reading and staying with me and the story up to now. Also thanks to everyone that reviewed, is reviewing or will review! All of you guys motive me to write.**

 **To chrisie198920: Today :). Oh, and for the compliment btw! I try. Also thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely keep it in mind when I write the next chapters!**

 **To Kale97: Sorry to disappoint! I thought it'd be more interesting that way, ya know? If Percy and Annabeth do get together in the future (just** **hypothetically) then I'd want to build it up. In so many fics out there, Percy and Annabeth get together a little too fast, in my opinion. What I really liked about the book was that they built up to the relationship. And Derek will be explained in future chapters, probably the next one. So stay tuned! Thanks for the compliment (it warms my heart! :) Loved the pun btw. Little known fact about me: I LOVE puns.**

 **To BECKENDORK: Thanks! I passed! I'd like to think that you're positive thinking calmed my nerves a little :) Oh, so do I! I always loved it when a character hated another person, even though that person was perfect! XD**

 **To NONAME2002: Aww, thanks dude! I try, and I'm a naturally curious person. Like, when you're talking and get** **interrupted, I'm the person that looks at you and lets you finish your story. I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day and an even nicer birthday! Derek's back story will most probably be told in the next chapter, tomorrow when I've had more sleep and actually know what I'm writing. As for your request, I'll take it into consideration. I can't promise you anything, because honestly I don't even know how this story's gonna end, and I'm the one writing it. (Yeah... Now that I think about it.. That doesn't really sound reassuring..). However, I advise you to keep dreaming and to dream big. I'm not gonna lie though, I'm really proud of that ending. XD**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thanks dude, I try.**

 **To Fratzy: Thanks for your suggestions! I'll take them into consideration, as for Derek. You'll get more info on him next chapter :)**

 **To Guest: Good! I did my best to make it both good and not seem rushed! Nice to know you liked my sorta kinda plot twist. I knew she was gonna pop up, and thought 'Eh, what the hell. Now seems like as good a moment as any.' Yes, that is literally what I was thinking when I wrote that scene XD. Not sure if you're interested or not, but I passed! It came at a price though: My sleep. :(**

 **Once more, sorry if this chapter kind of disappointed you. I'm aware that this definitely isn't my best work and hope to make it up to you with the new chapter tomorrow. That's all for now, so... Uh.. Bye.**


	24. Chapter 24

Percy's POV  
On Monday morning, I woke up, tired as hell, to the smell of my mom's pancakes and suddenly I felt like I was five again, no girl troubles and no drama. Sometimes, I really miss being five. And then it dawned on me, my mom is home! It feels like I haven't seen her in weeks, only a glimpse here and there. I jumped out of my bed, got dressed, did my morning routine in record time and then rushed downstairs to have breakfast with my mom. I really have missed her.

Even back when I was five, my dad had a busy schedule and wasn't always around, but I always had breakfast with my mom. No matter how busy she was, she always made time for me. Nowadays I'm lucky if I catch a glimpse of her, that's how busy she is. But that's okay, because she's here now and I can ask her for advice.

When I entered the kitchen, I was greeted with the heavenly smell of my mom's blue pancakes that were on the table, with a note next to it:

 _Hey sweetie, sorry but the office just called me._

 _I had to leave early, I hope you don't mind. Left_

 _some pancakes for you to make it up to you!_

 _Have a nice day at school._

 _Love, mom._

I'm not gonna lie, I felt disappointed, but my mom loves her job and I should support her. The environment needs her more right now, I can always ask her advice later. So, I sat there and ate the pancakes alone. I really wished I was five again, even for a second.

-Line Break-

When I entered the school, I was dragged out by Leo.

"Dude, what are you doing?" I asked him confusedly.

"What does it look like? I'm dragging you away from school." He said, as if that wasn't obvious.

We reached my car, when I looked at him and said "Yeah, no shit Sherlock. But why did you just drag me away from school?"

"Because, we're not going to school."

"Why not?"

"It's called skipping school."

"Why are we skipping school?"

"Because we're gonna hang out with everyone at the mall, duh."

"Why can't we do that on a weekend?"

"I don't know, it's more fun this way."

"Yeah, no thanks. I think I'll pass." I said, heading for the school.

"Aw, come on. Don't tell me you're scared." He shouted after me.

"I'm not scared!" I shouted back.

He smirked and said "Prove it. I dare you, nay wait. I double dog dare you to skip school today with the rest of the gang."

"Won't the school people notice that eight students didn't show up today?" I tried to reason with him, walking towards him.

He just smirked that little elf smirk of his and said "But we did show up. Or. According to the school's computer that is."

I widened my eyes at that. "Isn't that illegal? Dude, you could go to jail for that!" I shouted/whispered to him.

"I didn't do anything. Let's just say I know this guy that owed me a favor." He answered cryptically.

"What about the teachers? They'll mark us as absent." I tried once more reasoning with him.

"Eh, couple of them owed a couple of us favors. And before you ask, no the students won't tattle. I just know." He retorted. Damn, I've got nothing else.

"Now that you're done making excuses, can we go? Every one else is probably waiting for us." He complained.

I just sighed and resined myself to the fact that I'm not going to school today. Skipping school, going to parties and drinking. If my friends back in San Fransisco could see me now..

"Fine. Let's go. Let's set up some ground rules for the ride though: No Taylor Swift in my car. In fact, I choose what we listen" I declared. Last time I let him choose the music, I ended up listening to Taylor Swift's 'Shake it off' for two hours straight. By the end of it, I was sick and tired of both the song, and Leo.

"What? But TSwift is my queen!" He stated.

"It's my car, my rules."

"Fine. Only if I get to drive." He challenged.

"What? No way! This is a brand new car, I'm not letting you drive it." I told him.

"Bro, I see the bags under your eyes. I don't know what you did last night, but you should get some rest. I promise I'll be careful." He told me sincerely.

When he saw my uneasy expression. "If I don't get to drive or choose the music, then I'll be as annoying as I can." He threatened.

I think I just became shade whither after hearing that. Leo is known to be naturally obnoxious according to most people, personally I can handle him, but Leo being purposely annoying? Yeah, that's a catastrophe. No matter how much patience you got, he will annoy you somehow.

"Ok, fine. You can drive." I relented.

Nico's POV  
"Okay, I jus got a text from Leo, saying that the pig is in the blanket. Which I think means that he convinced Percy to skip school and that they're on their way." I announced. We were currently at the mall, waiting for our gang to be complete, so that we can all hang out as friends. Could we have done it in the weekend? Yeah, probably. But, this is more fun. Plus nothing brings people closer together than making bad choices.

"Annabeth will be a little late, she's stuck in traffic." Thalia told me.

Jason groaned at that. "I can't stand waiting. I really want to know what happened when Percy met Derek!"

"It doesn't help that he didn't answer his phone." I muttered.

"Did Annabeth tell you anything?" Hazel asked Thalia.

"No, not really. She said it went pretty good and that's it. I couldn't get any more information out of her." She said frustrated.

"I can't stand not knowing. Can't one of you guys ask Percy what happened?" Piper said, looking at me specifically.

"Fine, I'll call him." I relented.

"Put it on speaker phone!" Frank added. Man, it seems like that's how all of my phone conversations will go from now on.

"Okay, it's ringing." I announced.

"Hey Nico, what's up?" Leo answered.

"Hey can you're on speakerphone. Can you put us on speaker too?" I asked him.

"You already are. So what's up?"

"We all wanted to ask Percy:What happened on Saturday when you met Derek." I asked, the same time Thalia asked "What's Derek like?" and Piper asked "What does he look like?" and Jason asked "You think I can take him, if I have to?"

"Uhhh... I didn't really understand anything. Can't you guys speak on at the time?" Was Percy's reply.

"What happened when you met Derek?" I asked him.

"He was... Kept on... Didn't really..." He answered.

"What?" We all asked him.

"Tunnel... Can't get... Call... Later..." And then he hung up. We all sighed, of course they'd drive trough a tunnel, right when it was getting juicy.

"Why don't we try calling Annabeth?" Hazel suggested.

"Trust me, she won't answer any of our questions. I tried, repeatedly." Piper told her glumly.

"Why don't we play Volleyball while we wait?" Frank suggested.

"I'm in." Jason announced.

"Me too." Piper answered.

"Ditto." was Hazel's response.

"Count me out." Thalia said.

"Yeah, me too." I agreed with Thalia.

"I'll be the referee!" Grover said.

And then I was left alone with Thalia. Is it too late to join them?

"Okay, now that we're alone. Can you tell me what's your problem?" Thalia demanded.

"I don't have a problem." I answered defensively.

"Bull shit. You said you forgave me, but you've been avoiding me."

"No I haven't."

"Yes, you have."

"No, I haven't.

She just gave me a glare that could kill and I relented.

"Fine, maybe I've been avoiding you. Just a little."

"Why? Is it because you still hate me?"

Why indeed. I could tell her I don't know, but that's a lie. I know full well why I've been avoiding her. We were sitting on the same rock where I last saw Austin. His words were ringing in my ears ' _I hope you get her, I really do._ '.

At the time, I didn't know what he meant with that. But now, sitting here with her and the sun rising, making it seem like she was on fire, I understood. I've been avoiding her, not because I hate her, but because I love her. Goddamn it. I thought I was over my little crush from two years ago. But I guess hearing her laugh again and knowing I made her laugh brought up my old feelings, and multiplied them by ten.

If I don't avoid her, I'm scared that I might never let her go. I wanted to tell her all of this, I really did, but I couldn't. I never was good at putting my feelings in to words.

"No, I don't hate you. At all. I just... I guess I still feel a little awkward being around you. Percy was in love with yo..." I suddenly realized what I was saying and shut my mouth. But it was too late, she heard me she heard what I said. Shit, crap, damn. I really should think before I speak.

"Percy was in love with me?" She asked incredulously.

"No! No! Did I say in love? I meant... lust! Yeah.. He wanted you!" I tried to salvage the situation, but I think my words were falling to deaf ears because it looked like she didn't even hear me.

"I mean, I knew he had a crush on me, but I didn't know he.." She muttered to herself. "I have to talk to him!"

"Thalia, Thalia, Thalia. Please, I'm begging you don't. Don't talk to him. Fine, yes Percy was in love with you-"

"Percy was in love with Thalia?!" Annabeth gasped. Of course Annabeth was standing there. Please kill me now, before Percy does. Why did I have to open my big fat mouth? Why did I even think that this was a good idea?

And of course Percy and Leo arrive, right at that moment. Perfect.

"Hey, hey. The dream team just arrived, ladies try to keep your panties on." Leo exclaimed.

Percy laughed and said "Hey guys!" and then he saw Annabeth's crushed look, Thalia's shocked expression and my 'please-kill-me-now' look and said "Okay... What's up with you guys? What hap-"

Annabeth marched up to him and slapped him. "So the only reason you hung out with me was to get with my best friend? I can't believe I trusted you!" And then she stormed off.

Thalia gave him an apologetic look and followed Annabeth. "I'll calm her down." She said.

And Percy was left standing there with a dumbstruck look. "Nico... What did you do?" He asked in an accusing tone.

"I'm just gonna, uhh, say 'hi' to the rest. Have fun!" Leo said awkwardly and left.

"Let me join you." I tried leaving, but Percy grabbed the hood of my hoodie and dragged me to a bench.

"Nico, what did you do?" He said slowly.

"I mighta kinda told Annabeth and Thalia that you were in love with Thalia.." I mumbled quietly.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you."

"Thalia and Annabeth, might sort of know about you and how you felt for Thalia." I confessed.

His eyes widened. "Bro.. Please tell me you're joking." He pleaded.

I just gave him a sheepish look in return.

He groaned and said "How? How did they find out?"

I cleared my throat and said "I, uhh, I might've accidentally let it slip when I was talking to Thalia and Annabeth might've accidentally heard it. At least, that's one of my theories. The other one involves a black hole and-"

"Wait, you TOLD Thalia? What the hell man? Why? Why would you tell her that?!" He interrupted me.

"I didn't mean to! It just slipped out!"

"Right, because 'Percy was in love with you' is such a common sentence." He said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to, you know I didn't."

He just sighed and sat down. "I know. It's not your fault. It's my fault. She hates me now." He said dejectedly.

"I'm sure Thalia doesn't hate you." I tried comforting him.

"No, I know that. I was talking about Annabeth. She hates me now. She probably thinks I'm some sort of player or something."

"What? Why would she think that?"

He just shook his head. "Doesn't matter anyway. Not like I had a chance."

"Okay, listen Perce. I'll fix it. I promise." I told him. But he didn't seem to har me. He just sat there frowning and muttering to himself.

Annabeth's POV  
Of course he loves Thalia. I mean, why wouldn't he? Every guys wants to be with Thalia, I thought bitterly.

"Annabeth. Annabeth wait!" Thalia shouted, running after me.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about. Percy loves you, that's that."

"Wrong, Percy WAS in love with me."

"He probably only hung out with me to get to you." I muttered bitterly.

"That's not true!" Thalia said. "He also hung out with you, when I wasn't around." She reasoned.

I scoffed at that. "Yeah, probably to get some brownie points with you."

"Annabeth!" Nico shouted. When he reached us, he was panting. "Time-out. Give me a sec."

"What are you doing here?" Thalia asked him.

"I'm here to tell you, that Percy doesn't love Thalia. I do." He confessed.

"What?" We both shouted. I forgot all about Percy for a second. I've been waiting for this to happen for two years now, I can't believe I get to witness this moment!

"What?" Thalia repeated.

Nico just blushed and said "Uhh... Not what I meant to say. What I meant, was Percy's not in love with you and uhh yeah... That's.. That's all."

"You're in love with me." Thalia kept on repeating.

"I.. I.." Nico started, but then he gained a look of determination. "The reason why I've been avoiding you, is because I'm scared Thalia. I'm scared to death at how much I want to be around you, and the power you have over me. I want to be around you, pretty much all the time and that scares me, because I never want to be around anyone all the time. And I know you don't feel the same way, so I've been avoiding you, hoping that these feelings would go away. Now I made everything awkward between us, and I-" Nico rambled.

Thalia interrupted him with a kiss. At first he looked shocked and just stood there. But then he must've regained his senses because he closed his eyes and put his arms around her.

I decided to give them some privacy. I walked to my car and decided to just go home, because I'm really not in the mood to be anywhere but my bed right now. Of course a certain person wouldn't let me leave.

"Percy, get out of the way, or I'll hit you with my car!" I shouted through the car window.

"No." He said defiantly.

"What?"

"No. I'm not letting you go until we talk." He said with determination.

"There's nothing to talk about." I told him.

"Nothing? How about the fact that when you avoided me for two weeks, I was miserable because you didn't care enough to tell me why you couldn't hang out with me? Or how about the fact that when I agreed to meet Derek, the whole time we were hanging out, you barely spoke three words to me? Huh? How about the fact that you've been ignoring all of my calls and texts? We've got everything to talk about Annabeth. You don't have to like me, but you can't just leave like that. You can't just leave things like that between us, without letting me explain."

"Fine."

"Thank you. I'm not in love with Thalia, anymore. I was, but not anymore. I realized that we're better off as friends. I didn't just hang out with you to get closer to Thalia, I promise you that. I hung out with you, because you challenge me, you make me laugh and you don't make things easy for me. I hang out with you, because I love being with you Annabeth. You piss me off, you make me happy, you frustrate me and you drive me absolutely insane. But when I don't talk to you even once in a day, well then that day is just no good. You're my best friend Annabeth, I can't have my best friend be mad at me." He said, giving me the puppy dog stare.

I wanted to stay mad at him, I really did. But I've gotta admit, he's pretty good at making speeches, and making me speechless.

"So, what do you say? Do you forgive me Wise Girl?"

I just sighed and pretended to think about it. "I guess, I can forgive a Seaweed Brain, for being a Seaweed Brain."

His face lit up at that. "Yes! I mean, cool, cool." He said, trying to sound casual.

I just had to laugh at his fail. "Come on Seaweed Brain, let's go join the others." I said, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the bonfire Leo just made.

Percy's POV  
When she grabbed my hand, I got goosebumps all over my arm and I swear I felt electricity pass through me. When she let go, I missed her hand already. I couldn't help it, it was like it was made for my hands.

When we reached the bonfire I was greeted by Jason with "Finally! There you guys are! Now spill, what happened on Saturday?" Jason demanded.

"I'll tell you guys..." I started, all of them leaning in a little, "..once Thalia and Nico arrive. I don't want to have to relive the experience twice." I shuddered.

"Dammit! Where are they?!" Piper said impatiently.

"There's always something. It's either a tunnel, or missing people. Geez, can't we for once just hear a story without..." Jason mumbled to himself.

"Maybe we should all look for them." Hazel suggested.

Everyone agreed and split into teams and went on separate directions looking for Thalia and Nico. Where are they? More importantly, what could they be doing for this long?

I was gonna find out soon.

* * *

 **Boom, longer chapter finished. I was originally planning on having this happen at school, but then I'd have to think up subject schedules and teacher names,** **and... I was feeling a little lazy. So what did you guys think of this chapter? Loved it? Hated it? Didn't really care for it? Be sure to let me know! The next chapter will be posted on Friday, and will contain more info on Derek. I was planning on adding it to this chapter, but then Nico confessed Percy's secret and I just rolled with it. Plus, this way they can all move past it, because honestly I wasn't sure how or when to write this scene. I'm just making this all up as I go, sometimes I'm just as shocked as you are at what comes next. Most of the time I know how I want to start a chapter but that's it. I just let my fingers type the middle and the ending of a chapter, and sometimes I'm surprised at what I write. Thanks for reading so far, I hope you guys are enjoying the story!**

 **To Sally Stevens: Thanks! I wasn't really sure about it, because I wrote it when I only had 4 hours of sleep, but I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing btw :)**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: First and for all, I love your name. I love the play on words, I just had to say it. XD Second and for all, thank you! I was worried I was kind of rushing things between them, so I'm glad you like the development! I'm glad you enjoy reading my story! :)**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thanks man! I was worried about that chapter, so it's nice to know you liked it! Oh, thanks of the congratulation, btw. I'm gonna be honest, I was really surprised when I found out passed. I followed driving lesson at my school, but I fell asleep on all of them, so I was worried because I did not pay attention. I honestly still can't believe I passed. Thanks for reviewing btw :)**

 **To Emma Chase-Hunter of Artemis: I'm so sorry! But please don't kill me, at least not yet. I've still got some things to do here and there, oh and this story to finish. But you know, once I'm done, you can totally kill me that's fine XD If you ship Thalico, you'll definitely enjoy this chapter (and maybe reconsider killing me?). Glad my story could incite such strong emotions, I guess :)**

 **To Fratzy: Thank you! I was worried about the length, because as the story progressed, so has the length. In the beginning the last chapter would've been considered as a long chapter by me, now though I see it as short. It's just an observation. And you'll see Thalia's reaction, in the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing, and pretty much being there since the beginning! :)**

 **To NONAME2002: Thanks man, I hope you'll enjoy this longer chapter more :) Also, I'll definitely take your suggestion into account. I was planning on adding it to this chapter, but then one thing led to another and before you know it *BAM* Thalico moment. I wasn't even planning on that, it just happened. I will be using that suggestion in the next chapter, for sure! So, thank you for that. You take care too, fellow kind soul. (P.S. You must tell me more about these 'Popeyes' ! I have absolutely no idea what that is, but I'm definitely intrigued.)**

 **To Guest: *Gives you a high-five* Way to go! Congrats on passing before Christmas! And thanks, I was worried when I finished first. I was so sure I failed, because I literally studied 2 days for that test. I knew people that studied a whole week and still failed, so I was cursing myself that day. Until I found out I passed. I swear, I thought I was dreaming. I do too, btw. There are just to mane stories out there, where Annabeth breaks up with her boyfriend because he messed up and gets together with Percy immediately. I love it, when thy build up a relationship and seeing it evolve naturally. Thanks for reviewing, btw :)**

 **To BECKENDORK: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I hope you had a nice V-Dday, btw! And you sure can brother! *Hands you a form* Just fill this in, and you'll get it in the mail after 3 consecutive work days! The first year is for free, but then you'll have to pay, by not being in a relationship :P But seriously, thanks for your help! You keep doing you man, you keep doing you!**

 **Okay, to everyone else that reviewed, is reviewing or will review: Thanks! I appreciate the feedback. I hope you guys don't die soon? I guess? I'm not really good at this.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Annabeth's POV  
It was lunch time and we were sitting around the bonfire, eating hotdogs. We found Thalia and Nico arguing, obviously trying to hide the fact that they were making out. I'll admit, they were doing a pretty good job and had I not witnessed their kiss earlier I would've genuinely believed that they were mad at each other. It took us ten minutes to break them apart. On our way to the bonfire, I walked beside Thalia and smirked at her.

"What are you smirking at?" Thalia asked me.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Except for the fact that you and Nico finally got together. Thank gods, the sexual tension between you two was killing me." I teased(/meant it). It was true, even when Nico hated her, the sexual tension was still there.

"Oh, we're not together." She said.

I gave her an incredulous stare. "Bull shit you're not together! I saw you guys kiss!" I whispered/shouted.

"We did. It sucked, so we decided that friends was the way to go." She said casually.

I blinked. "You're kidding, right? You guys would be great together!"

She shrugged. "The spark wasn't there. The point is, we're not together and we finally got the answer on wether or not we'd make a good couple, which by the way is no."

"But.. But.. What did Nico think?" I asked her, thinking back on the way Nico used to look at her.

"He agreed. The spark just wasn't there. No harm done, we're still friends and there is no awkwardness."

And that was that. I observed her throughout her explanation and she didn't seem to be lying. Huh, I guess they're not together. That's a shame, I really did like them together.

"Well... If you both think so, then I guess good for you guys?" I told her.

And then we all sat down to eat.

"So... we're all here for one reason really, and that's to get more info without being interrupted." Jason started.

"Although it seems like there's more interruptions here than at school." Piper said, giving Thalia and Nico a pointed look.

"Why don't we start from the beginning? Annabeth, how did you meet Derek?" Nico asked me, directing the attention away from him and a blushing Thalia. Wait. I rubbed my eyes to see if I saw that right, because there is no way Thalia Grace blushed. When I looked at again, she wasn't. Hmm... I should keep an eye on both her and Nico, because there's something fishy going on here. And no I am not talking about the beach.

"Yeah, how did you meet Derek?" Piper directed her question at me, obviously interested.

"Well, it all started when I transferred to San Francisco for a semester..." I started

FLASHBACK

 _Okay, today is my first day at Trojan Hills High School. No worries, it's gonna be okay. I told myself to get rid of the nerves. It didn't work. I was currently standing in front of a Roman inspired school, both excited and nervous. Accepting the fact that I wasn't gonna get rid of the nerves any time soon, I entered the school._

 _It was just as huge inside as it was outside. Everywhere I looked there were people hanging out with their friends, laughing, talking and generally having a good time. I was starting to have second thoughts about this, because it's absolutely insane, transferring to a new school for one semester. Why didn't I think this through? Why did I think that this was a good idea in the first place?_

" _Hey, are you new?" Someone asked, tapping me on the shoulder._

 _I turned around and was met by strikingly blue eyes. It was a boy, he looked about my age and had messy black hair, and easy going smile and wore a grey shirt with a green flannel over it and black jeans, underneath it all he wore black all stars._

" _Yeah, I'm a transfer student from New York." I told him._

" _Cool! I always wanted to go to New York! My name's Derek, by the way. Derek Hughes, I'm the captain of the basketball team. Hey, since your new and all, want me to show you around?"_

" _Umm, yeah sure. That would be great. My name's Annabeth by the way."_

" _Annabeth." He said, testing my name out I guess. "Pretty, and I'm not just talking about the name." He winked._

 _I did not blush._

"You so did!" Piper quipped.

"Shut up, you weren't there!" I retorted. And no, I was not blushing now either! "Can I finish my story, or do you want to?" I said, before she could comment any further. When I was met with silence, I continued.

" _... And this is where my and my friends hang out. You should meet them, they'd love you!" Derek finished his tour. I like him, he's been really nice so far, and even though I don't like talking to new people, there's just something about him that makes me feel comfortable around him. He's charming._

" _Whew, looks like we finished just in time. Class starts in 5 minutes. What do you have first period?"_

" _Math." I told him._

 _His face lit up. "Me too! I'll walk you to class."_

 _And I'll admit, I did not mind one bit._

 _-Line Break-_

" _Wow, you're smart you know that?" Derek told me after class._

" _I sort of had a suspicion." I responded drily._

 _He just grinned at me. "Hey, you mind showing me your schedule?"  
_

 _I raised my eyebrow at that. "Not gonna lie, you kind of sound like a stalker right now." I told him._

 _He put his hand on his heart and said in a mock offended voice "You wound me Annabeth! I've been nothing but nice and you dare accuse me of being a stalker? I am hurt Annabeth, HURT!"_

 _I shushed him, but couldn't stop the laugh from leaving my mouth. "Okay, okay, here's my schedule, just shut up."_

 _He just grinned at me and said "And that's how we do it here in San Fransisco." And then looked over my schedule. His face lit up once more, I swear he's the human version of a Christmas tree. "Sweet! We have every class together. You sure you're not the one stalking me?"_

" _And why on earth would I stalk you?"_

"Isn't it obvious? It's because of my handsomeness, friendliness, wholesomeness and most importantly awesomeness."

 _I snorted out a laugh and commented sarcastically "I think you forgot humbleness."_

" _Oh yeah, I did! Thanks!"_

 _I rolled my eyes and said "Let's go to the next class, I am not going to be late because of you."_

" _Did I mention I that I'm a very punctual person?"_

" _I'm gonna keep you on that."_

 _He smirked and said "Does that mean we'll be having arranged meetings?"_

 _I just smiled and walked away._

 _-Line Break-_

" _Guys, this is Annabeth. She's new." was how Derek introduced me to his friends. He told me all about them in Art class. There was Gwen, Reyna, Dakota, Hylla, and the Stoll twins, Travis and Connor._

" _Yeah, we kinda guessed that." Reyna remarked dryly._

 _Derek just blushed. "Right."_

 _Everyone just laughed. I think I'll fit in just nicely._

 _-Time skip: 2 months-_

 _Today was my last day here in San Fransisco, and while I missed New York, I'll admit there are some things here that I'll miss. Some people I will miss too. We were all at the airport and my plane was leaving in an hour._

" _Babe, I can't believe you're leaving me!" Derek wailed._

" _Oh, right. Now I definitely can't wait to leave! And don't call me babe, you know I hate that!" I exclaimed. Ever since he found out that I hate being called 'Babe' , he's used every opportunity he got to call me That._

 _He just pouted and the rest of the gang laughed._

" _Lucky you!" Reyna commented._

" _You're all meanies, you know that?" He said in a childlike voice._

" _Don't worry bro, we got you." Travis winked at him._

" _Yeah, everyone let's give these two lovebirds a much needed private moment." Connor shouted._

 _Everyone laughed at our matching blushing faces, and went to the McDonalds at the airport._

" _For real though, I am gonna miss you babe." Derek told me._

 _I smiled at him. "Why did you help me?"_

 _He looked surprised at my question. "What?"_

" _On my first day at school, you helped me. Why?"_

" _Because I see you, Annabeth. You're pretty hard not to notice. You looked just as lost as I did on my first day of High school, and I knew that I would've really appreciated help on my first day here. That, and my mom did raised me to be a gentle man."_

" _Well, she's a pretty amazing woman then."_

 _He got a far-away look when he said "Yeah, she was."_

 _My eyes widened at that. "Oh my gods, I'm sorry. I didn't know she was... Well..."_

" _Dead?" He finished, I just nodded in response. He gave me one of his easy-going smiles and said "It's okay, it's been three years. I'm okay."_

" _She did a great job, you know." I told him._

" _I'd like to think so."_

 _And then it was quiet, but not awkward. I'm really gonna miss Derek, he's the first guy to actually see me. Most of the times, guys notice Thalia and see me only as her friend. Derek's the first person to actually see me, the real me. We hung out pretty much every day for the past two months. Nothing happened. Unfortunately._

" _I'll miss you too, by the way." I said, partly to break the silence but mostly because I meant it._

 _He smiled, a soft smile, at me and said "Yeah? You sure you're not gonna forget me, what with all of them fancy New York city guys?"_

" _You're a pretty hard person to forget." I admitted. "You can be really annoying and braggy, and I could do with out the constant whining when we're studying and would it kill you to-"_

 _And then he grabbed my face with his two hands and kissed me. My first kiss, and it was amazing. I didn't know what to do, so I just did what felt natural._

 _When he pulled away, I was breathless not just by the kiss but also by the way he was looking at me. His eyes were filled with so much love and adoration, my heart hurt at the fact that I was leaving him._

" _You talk too much." He whispered._

 _I smiled and whispered back "Then I guess you should shut me up."_

 _He smiled back and said "That, I can do."_

 _After making up for all of the kisses that we missed by denying our feelings for each other, I had to board my flight. We didn't say goodbye. Maybe it was because we didn't know how to, maybe it was because we simply didn't want to, or maybe, just maybe, it was because we knew that this wasn't goodbye._

"And that's how I met Derek." I finished my story.

"Wait, but how did you guys meet today?" Frank asked confused.

Percy' POV  
"Oh, right. That. He moved here to New York, and I came across him at the park. Or, more like HE came across me at the park." Annabeth answered. My eyes widened at that. Three weeks ago. If I had just realized my feelings sooner, then none of this would've happened. She would have never been at the park, Derek wouldn't have seen her and they wouldn't be together now. I had a six month advantage and I didn't use it. Now it's too late. The way her eyes sparkled when she was speaking about Derek made my heart clench.

And just when I thought it couldn't get worse Annabeth causally announced "In fact, he'll be going to school with us. He starts next week." Oh great, I get to see Annabeth make goo-goo eyes at Derek, every day from then on. Lovely.

"Yes! I'll get to interrogate him!" Piper squealed.

"And I'll be right there with you!" Thalia exclaimed.

"Ooh, maybe we should do a good-cop, bad-cop again." Piper proposed.

"Nah, we did that last time. How about: Bad-cop, bad-cop?" Thalia asked.

"Interesting." Piper said.

"Ooh, can I join? I'll be scary-cop!" Nico claimed.

"Can I the good-cop? I don't know how to be the bad-cop." Hazel admitted.

"I think you'd be a cute-cop." Frank told her.

She gave him a sweet smile in return and everyone awww'd. It's Frazel, everyone loves Frazel.

"Oh! You'd totally be the silent, scary intimidating-cop." Leo said to Frank. He wore a thoughtful expression after that.

"You think so?" He asked.

"Definitely, bro! Have you seen your size?" Jason exclaimed.

"Can I be the nature-cop? you know, make sure Derek is eco-friendly?" Grover proposed.

"Well, that is important." Piper agreed.

"Guys, guys guys, I think we're getting off topic. I'd be the hot-cop." Leo said seriously.

"No way! More like the annoying-cop." Thalia snorted.

"No, he could be our secret weapon." I spoke for the first time, because I couldn't resist. "Think about it. If Derek pisses us off or annoys us, we can sick Leo at him."

"I get it. You want me to... Beat him up?" Leo said, cracking his fingers.

"No, worse. I want you to... annoy him." I deadpanned.

Everyone gasped.

Leo got a thoughtful look before saying with an evil smirk "Roger that."

"I thought I was evil." Nico commented.

"Wait, which cop would I be?" Jason asked.

"Oh, you'd probably be the guy doing all the paper work." Piper answered. Everyone muttered their agreement and Jason looked offended.

"What? How can you say that?" He said indignantly.

"Well, you always want to follow the rules, always, and you keep bugging us to do our homework." Thalia explained. Everyone laughed, because it was true.

"Well... Which cop would Percy be?" Jason asked, trying to direct the attention away from him.

"He'd be the hot-cop!" Leo said, fist bumping me. "Damn right!" I answered.

"No, he'd totally be the police chief!" Piper corrected.

"Yeah! Or like the sheriff!" Thalia added.

"I could totally see that!" Frank agreed.

"Now that I think about it..." Hazel started.

"...That's really fitting!" Grover finished.

"Oh dear gods, what have I done." Annabeth groaned. Then she got up and said "I'm gonna go stretch my legs and pee. And get away from you weirdoes." She muttered the last part, but everyone ignored it. We knew we were weirdoes, hell I've pretty much embraced it.

Jason cracked his fingers and asked me "Hey, Perce. You already met him. You think I can take him if I have to?"

"Umm... Yeah.. maybe." I said, thinking back on Derek's bulging muscles. "If you know how to fight. Depends on wether his stories of that time he beat up this mugger is true, that is."

"What's Derek like?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah, and do you like him?" Thalia added.

"Umm... Well... No. I don't like him. I mean, he was friendly and all we I met him, a little braggy here and there, but I guess he was nice enough."

"Then why don't you like him?" Nico asked confused.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I don't know, I just don't."

Thalia sighed and asked "Did he have a chin dimple?"

"..."

"Dammit Percy, how many times do I have to tell you, that that is not a viable reason to hate someone?"

"It's weird. But no, that's not it. I don't know, the guy just gives me a baad feeling."

"You want me to beat him up for you?" Thalia asked seriously.

"What?"

"Do you want me to beat him up for you? Because if you don't like him, then I don't like him. He's probably a serial killer or something." Thalia announced.

I'm not gonna lie, I was seriously considering her offer. "Not now, although I might take up your offer in the future."

"Ahh, I see what's happening here. You're jealous." Leo said smugly.

"What?! I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous of Derek?" I said indignantly.

"Because he got Annabeth before you. You never know how much you like someone, until you see them liking someone else." He answered smugly.

"That's ridiculous! I don't... I don't even like her that way!" I told him, trying to fight off a blush. I failed.

Jason gained a look of realization and said "Holy crap, you really do like her!"

"No, I don't!" I insisted.

"Then why did come over to Annabeth's place when you thought she booty called you?" Nico challenged.

"Hold up. You though Annabeth booty called you on girls-night in?" Thalia asked me.

I became beet red. "It's their fault!" I sad pointing to Nico and Leo. "They were all like, 'it's totally a booty call dude', and, 'tap that', and I was getting all confused 'cause of the tampons and deer carcasses and yeah.

"Am I the only one that didn't understand the ending?" Frank asked.

Jason just sighed and said "Nope. That's what happens when you miss bro's night out. It's okay buddy, they won't explain it to me too."

"It's complicated." Nico told them.

"Well, if you though it was a booty call and didn't like her, then why did you go?" Piper asked.

"Because... I'm a sixteen-year old boy that wasn't thinking?" I answered.

"Exactly! You weren't thinking with your brain hermano, you were thinking with your heart." Leo said.

"It kinda sounded like he was thinking with his little brain." Thalia pointed out.

Before I could deny or reply, annabeth returned and all talk of booty call were silenced.

"Why is it so quiet all of a sudden?" Annabeth asked us.

We all shared a look and I was telling them to keep their mouths shut with my eyes. Or, trying to at least.

"Umm.. We, were all just wondering what happened when Percy met Derek. Right guys?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, yeah. What he said!" Nico added.

Annabeth looked confused. "Can't Percy just tell you?"

"Umm, yes, yes he can, but... He sucks at telling stories?" Nico answered unsure.

"Well, that's true." Annabeth said.

She ignored my indignant 'Hey' and recounted one of the worst experiences of my life.

"... And then this redheaded girl threw herself at Percy, he he left with her and then I don't know what happened." She finished, giving me a pointed look.

"Wait a sec. You mean to tell me that you saw Red again, spent a whole car ride alone with me, and didn't tell me?!" Leo shouted at me. "Dude! That's awesome! Did you see her friend? Did she ask about me?"

"Holy crap! I forgot all about Red!" Nico exclaimed. "Tell me you got her name this time!"

"Who's Red?" Jason asked confused.

"I'd also like to know that." Annabeth said, giving me a glare.

"How does she look like?" Piper asked.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Hazel asked.

"How did you guys meet?" Grover asked

"Okay! One question at the time, please!" I shouted.

"No, I didn't tell you, Leo, about it, because I kinda forgot to and because I was tired. Red, is a girl I met at a club I went to with Leo on bro's night out. Yes, I did get her name this time it's Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Coincidentally, her friends call her RED. She's got a mane of curly red hair, these beautiful emerald green eyes and a face kissed by the sun."

"Don't forget a smoking hot body." Leo added.

Annabeth glared harder at me. I gulped and said "Right. Thank you for that Leo." At which he just bowed and mouthed 'You're welcome'.

"So, what happened after you left us?" Annabeth asked me icily.

I scratched my head "You know what? I don't really remember." I coughed out.

No one even had the decency to look like they believed me.

"Dude, did you and Rachel... You know..." Leo said suggestively while wiggling his eyebrows.

I blushed at that.

Jason's eyes widened "You did, didn't you?!"

"Did you?" Annabeth asked icily.

I coughed and said "I went to the club with Rachel after that it all becomes a little... Blurry. I remember, body shots being shouted in the background, flashes of red, dancing till my feet hurt and drinks. Lots and lots of drinks."

"You didn't answer my question." Annabeth said with her eyes narrowed, everyone else was practically leaning in anticipation.

"Right. I was, uhh, getting to that. So, after that whole club experience, I woke up in my bed half-naked... with Rachel." I muttered the last part quietly, but of course everyone heard me. Before I could explain that nothing happened, too many things happened at once:

Leo stood up and hugged me saying "I knew it was gonna happen, I knew it! My bro is finally a man!"

"Nico clapped me on the back and said "Nice done, man! And without my help? Congrats!" and then he muttered quietly "Give me the details later."

Jason bumped my fist and said "Well done dude!"

And then Annabeth stood up, and was about to leave but I said very loudly "We did not have sex!" She stopped mid step, the guys looked crestfallen and everyone else at the beach was looking at me. I might have said it a little too loudly. I had to blush at all of the attention I got.

I cleared my throat and said in a quieter tone "We didn't have sex. We made out a couple of times, a lot actually, but we didn't do it."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Piper asked me.

I frowned at that. "I don't know actually, we uhh didn't really talk about it or talk at all."

"What did you guys do then if you didn't, oh... Never mind." Hazel said, fanning her face looking a little scandalized.

"Do you like her?" Annabeth asked me in a tone I couldn't quite place.

"I.. I.."

"Yeah Percy? You planning on seeing her?" Thalia asked me.

"I don't know... I..."

"Did she want to see you again?" Piper asked.

"I think so.. I.. I don't know, I don't know. I just met her, I barely even know her." I answered.

"Where does she go to school? Maybe we can swing by and meet her." Leo proposed.

I cleared my throat once more. "She goes to Colombia University.." I mumbled the last part quietly.

"Can you speak up? I didn't hear the last part." Grover asked.

"Columbia University." I repeated louder.

Nico laughed. "That's impossible, 'cause if she want to Colombia University, that would mean she's like 18."

I scratched the back of my neck. Leo's eyes widened "Dude.. A college chick?" and then he brought his fist up and said "You must bump this." So, I did.

"Nice work." Nico commented with a look of respect.

"Dude, high five!" Jason said, high-fiving me.

"What did she say when you told her you're still in High school?" Thalia asked.

I coughed at that "I may or may not have told her, that I am a uhh student at NYU, majoring in Marine Biology."

"No..."Piper gasped incredulously.

Thalia face palmed "Okay, how do you see this ending?"

"Badly." I admitted.

"Then why on earth did you tell her that?" Annabeth fumed.

"i don't know, okay? She's really hot and she was looking at me with those green eyes and I was feeling all emotional because I realized that I'm in love with..." Oh shit, I was about to say 'you'.

Annabeth's eyes narrowed "With?"

"Ummm..."

"With who?" she repeated. "Is it Rachel?"

"What I meant to say was with... Taco's."

She got a confused look. "What?"

I took a deep breath and said "I'm in love with Taco's." while looking at Annabeth.

Nico's eyes narrowed "But you hate spicy food."

"Which is why I was feeling emotional, it would never work out." I explained.

Everyone just looked confused except Leo, he had a knowing look and gave me a sad smile. 'I got you, bro' he mouthed and then turned towards everyone and said "Come on guys, give his guy a break! He realized he's in love with Taco's but is never gonna be able to eat it. I've got the same relationship with Ice Cream, it gets really hard sometimes. We should support him trough this tough period of his life!"

"I am so confused right now." Grover commented.

"Right? I don't know what's happening." Frank agreed.

"So... umm are you planning on seeing Rachel again then?" Jason asked me, trying to diffuse the situation.

"I... don't know. I didn't really think it trough quite yet. I guess, maybe? I'll see if she texts me or not."

He nodded his head. "Letting her make the first move, smart."

"When she does, you tell us and we'll help you get her." Leo said with his arms around Nico and Grover and nodding at Frank.

I smiled and said "Definitely. I'll need you guys' expertise on women."

"Ahem, don't you think it's better if he come to US for help on women?" Piper said, pointing to the girls. "Since we're, you know, women?"

"No way! You may know how the female mind works, but we know how to win the female bodies Nico argued.

"Oh really?" Thalia said in a dangerous tone.

Nico gulped, but Jason said "Yeah! We know how to seduce women."

And so started the argument between the girls and the guys on who I should ask for advice. The only two people that weren't arguing, was me and Annabeth.

She sat a little further away from the group and had a frown on her face and looked to be deep in thought. I stood up and went to sit beside her.

"You okay?" I asked her.

She was still frowning when she answered in a hostile tone "Yeah, course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

I put my hands up "Just trying to make small talk, didn't mean any harm."

"Just leave me alone, okay?"

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"Because you're not okay, and I'm not leaving till I know you're okay."

"You had no problem doing that on Saturday."

"That's different and you know it! What did you want me to do Annabeth, huh? Continue being a third wheel on your date? Is that what you wanted?" I shouted

"No! You weren't the third wheel!" She said defensively

"Annabeth, you barely spoke three words to me that day!" I told her.

"That's not true!" She denied.

"It is! I was trying, okay? I really was!"

"Not hard enough if you were willing to leave before it ended." She said snidely.

"okay, that's not fair! You told me I could leave, you told me!"

"Yeah, and you promised me the day before that you were gonna stay 'till the end!"

"Yeah, but that was when I thought I was going to be hanging out with Annabeth and her boyfriend, not Derek and his girlfriend!" I barked.

"And what does that mean?"

"That means all you ever do when Derek is around is pay attention to him."

"Oh, I'm soo sorry I couldn't give you all of the attention you wanted." She said sarcastically. "You're not the only guy in my life, get used to it."

I brought my arms up and said "You know what? I'm tired Annabeth, sick and tired. I tried, I really did. I left, because it didn't seem like you really cared wether or not I was there. I thought you'd prefer if I wasn't there. If this is what I get for trying, then I'm done trying." And then I started walking away.

"Percy, wait!" She shouted after me.

I turned around and said exasperatedly "What do you want now?"

She sighed and said "I'm sorry. You're right, I over reacted. It wasn't in my place to react that way, and I'm sorry. I did tell you, you could go, and you did. I suppose maybe I was focusing most of my attention on Derek, and I'm sorry. I just really want you guys to be friends. He's really important to me, but so are you. You're my best friend Seaweed Brain, you forgive me?"

I made it look like I was thinking hard, until she punched me and said "Well?"

I rubbed my arm and said "Not if you keep hitting me. But yeah, I guess I could forgive you, just this once. Next time though, you'll have to try harder that that."

She smiled and said "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

She gave me a pointed look and I relented. "Ok, what?"

"Next week, when Derek comes, can you be his friend? He doesn't have that many friends here yet and he told me that he really liked you."

"I don't know... I didn't really feel, it you know."

"It?"

"Yeah, the friendship spark."

"Please, can you promise me to give him another chance? For me?"

Aaand cue all of my protests dying in my throat. "I guess... Fine. Anything for you."

"Thank you so much!" She said giving me a peck on the cheek and joining the others.

I just sat there, holding my left cheek. Annabeth likes Derek. A lot. He makes her smile, without being there. Shouldn't I be happy for her? I sighed, wondering what I should do.

Should I hold on, ruin a relationship with a guy, that sounds and seemed like a genuinely nice guy and makes her really happy?

Or should I just let her go, let her be happy and try to move on? Would I be able to make her as happy as Derek? Or would I just be ruining a great friendship?

Having made my decision, I grabbed my phone and sent Rachel a text:

 _Hey, wanna meet my friends today?_

And then, I clicked send.

* * *

 **Boom, another chapter bites the dust. Whew this was a pretty long one, I'll admit. Not the longest, but definitely up there. Hope this will satisfy you guys' reader needs because I won't be able to update until, around Tuesday, I've got a busy busy week-end and two yes coming up on Monday and Tuesday, so I'll try to update before, but I can't guarantee it. To make it up to you, I wrote a longer chapter, hope you guys aren't too disappointed.**

 **Oh, and don't forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter, I love getting feedback. What did you like? What did you think could** **improve? Got any ideas for the story? Anything you want to say, basically. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I did writing it. Don't forget to vote on the poll about Who Percy should end up with?, it's on my profile.**

 **To Poseidon114: Thanks, glad you like the story and the answer to your question: Maybe ;) and to punching Derek in the face: There's a possibility that that will happen in the future, but to be fair, anything is possible in the future, so.. Yeah..**

 **To Sally Stevens: Thank you! Here's an even longer chapter, I think like double the last chapter (?). I'm sorry that your ship wasn't in here, but who knows, maybe that'll change. :)**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thanks!Yeah, I really lucked out when it came to the questions. I had a bunch of easy one's that were literally from the book. What surprised me the most was that I was the first one to finish the test. And no not yet, I'm only 17 and where I live you have to be minimum 18 years old to take the practical exam, which sucks, cause my birthday is still a while away :( How about you? Do you have your license already?**

 **To VCRx: Thank you! Great to see you again! And, uh, I guess see you next time too? xD**

 **To Kale97: That makes both of us dude, that makes both of us :) I'm glad you like (nay love!) the story! I'm sorry that I make you want to tear your hair out, I'll try to avoid that (no promises though!). I hope their reactions is to your liking, I pretty much just wrote what came in my head. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: Yeah dude, the story isn't done yet, so there's hope!**

 **To Fratzy: Hey, thanks man. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**

 **To BECKENDORK: Thank you! I was worried that it would seem pointless, so thank you for proving my doubts wrong! :)**

 **To Guest: Thanks! And as for a name on FF: I'd advise to choose something that either has a link to your favorite anything (band/song/movie/book/character/tv-series/anything else), for example mine: Is based on this character in a book the I love rereading. You can also use a nickname, like for example if your friends call you Coach or something. Puns are also always a good choice. Or you could just choose something random. In the end it all depends on YOU, what you like, what you do and what you want. I hope I helped you make a decision! :)**

 **To NONAME2002: I hope you enjoyed this chapter then! As for Popeyes, I think you just gave me a reason to go to America! XD I got hungry reading what you wrote, so when I visit the States, you have to buy me food, it's like a universal law or something. You make me hungry, you buy me food. Don't bother looking it up, it's a uhhh, unwritten law! Yeah, that makes sense... *shiftily looking left and right* For the rest, take care and don't forget to buy me food ;P**

 **To other Guest: Good for you, being a good friend like that! Way to go! And it's okay that you don't want a relationship right now, we don't always have to want to be in a relationship. In the end, it's our life so we should decide wether we want to be in a relationship,or not.**

 **To yet another Guest: Very observant! That was what I was going for, without saying it! Glad it wasn't too subtle (I was kinda worried it might've been missed.) Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

Percy's POV  
The ride to zoo was a quiet affair, it was just Leo, Nico and me. The girls shared a car and the other guys shared another. Leo an dNico kept shooting me worried glances, until I finally snapped and said "What?"

"Nothing." Leo said a little to quickly.

"Just spit it out."

"I was thinking, this is the first time you're seeing Rachel again..." He started.

"Right, and?" I said.

"Well... Do you really want the girl you're in love with to be there?" Nico finished.

I sighed, of course they saw me look at Annabeth when I said I'm in love with Taco's. What's the use denying it even?

"Does it matter?" I muttered.

"What do you mean 'does it matter'? Of course it matters!" Nico exploded. "What are you doing? Why are we going to Rachel's, when the girl you love is in the car behind us? Why don't you stop this car and go get your girl"

"Because she's not my girl!" I shouted. "She's not MY girl." I repeated quietly.

"She's Derek's girl, a really nice guy that makes her happy. If she's happy, nothing else matters." I said, ending the discussion, or so I thought. Leo and Nico still had this weird look on their face.

"What?" I asked them exasperatedly.

"Say what you want but I think this is a bad idea." Nico stated.

"What? You guys are crazy!" I told them.

"Bro, think about it. Annabeth is hella possessive, and based on her reactions today I think we can all safely agree that she does not like Rachel. At all." Leo argued.

Shit, he has a point. Annabeth, for some reason, does not like Rachel. I don't see why, Rachel is a nice girl.

"Shit. Okay, maybe this wasn't one of my better ideas, but you were the ones that insisted on meeting her!" I told them.

"Yeah.. But that was before we knew you were in love with Annabeth." Nico pointed out.

"Whatever, I'm sure it'll be fine." I told them.

-Line Break-

It wasn't.

It all went to shit, the moment we arrived...

"So, if you told her you're a college student then does that mean we have to be college students too?" Piper asked me. We were in the Central Park Zoo, waiting for Rachel, since we were fifteen minutes early.

"You know, I didn't think of that." I admitted sheepishly.

"Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said fondly, rolling her eyes. It's moments like these, that really make my heart clench. They're like little moments of 'what-could-have-been' if I weren't a blind idiot, and I both love and hate them.

"We should actually get our stories straight." I told them.

"It's okay, we got like fifteen minuets to get our stories straight." Grover announced.

"Fifteen minutes?! Shit, that's not nearly enough time! We should've thought this through! Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission!" I panicked.

Thalia slapped me out of it, literally. "Get a grip! We can do this, okay Percy? Just don't panic. Take a deep breath and calm the fuck down."

I nodded my head furiously. "You're right, you're right. We can do this, we can totally do this."

Right when I was starting to believe that maybe everything would go okay, the world decided to prove me wrong. I saw Rachel enter the Zoo. Crap.

"We can't do this." I announced. "She's here!" I whispered to them. They all turned their heads to look at her. I pushed them away from her, silently commanding them to walk away. Luckily, they complied.

Jason whistled and said "Damn Percy, nice one!"

Nico nodded appreciatively and said "I approve cuz, I approve. She looks like a screamer. You should find out." He winked

For some reason I started blushing when he said that. "Umm... Well... I ..." I stammered out.

"She's really pretty." Piper noted.

"Yeah, didn't know you liked the artsy type, Perce." Thalia commented.

"Meh, she's okay, if you're into that kinda stuff." Annabeth said off-handily.

"I like her." Grover approved, probably because she was wearing her Greenpeace t-shirt.

"Me too, she looks nice. Doesn't she looks nice Frank?" Hazel asked him.

"She does, not as nice as you though." Frank answered honestly, making Hazel brush.

"You think her friend is gonna show up?" Leo asked me.

"Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission!" I told them.

"Why on earth would we leave now?" Frank asked me, confusedly.

"Oh, I don't know Frank.. Maybe because we don't have our stories straight!" I silently shouted.

"Ah, don't worry so much hermano! We'll just wing it!" Leo 'reassured' me.

"Somehow, that does not fill me with joy." I grumbled.

"Aw, come on Percy! She went all the way here to meet us, we can't leave now!" Piper pleaded.

"Yeah, we really want to make sure she's good enough for you! We care about you!" Thalia reasoned.

"You guys just want to interrogate her!" I accused them. They didn't even try to deny it or even look offended.

"Yeah, pretty much." Hazel dead-panned.

"I really regret every decision I've ever made, because it led me here." I lamented.

"Oh well... Too late." Leo announced.

"Wait... What does that-" I started, but he interrupted me.

"Hey Rachel, over here!" He shouted.

"Shit, dude! What are you doing?" I hissed. "Are you out of your fucking-" And then he pushed me towards Rachel. "Rachel! Hey Rachel, how's it going?" I greeted her.

She greeted me with a kiss and smiled when she pulled away. I'll admit, I was a little dazed after that kiss, but that smile of hers made my mind go blank.

"I'm doing great, although I'd rather be doing you!" She winked.

I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck, very much aware of the fact that my friends were observing our exchange. Predictably, I started stammering like an idiot. "Wow, uhh... I.. That's... I mean, totally... Like.."

She laughed and said "Relax. I was just kidding, mostly.. For now though, I want to meet your friends!"

I cleared my throat, hoping to clear my mind (it didn't work). "You sure? Because we could just bail, go to your place..." I suggested. When I looked over at my friends, they all seemed to be discussing something and had evil grins on their faces. I'm starting to get a bad feeling.

She laughed at that and slapped me on the arm. "I like the way you think, buuut I really want to meet your friends. Rain check for that date?"

"Definitely." I think Leo was getting a little impatient, because instead of waiting for us to go to them, he came to us.

"Hey, Rachel! I'm Leo, you might remember me from the club Ogygia?" Was how he introduced himself.

"Right, right! I remember you, if I recall my friend threw a drink at you." She stated.

His face lit up at the mention of Khione. "Exactly! Speaking of your friend... Did she ask about me?"

"Well... She has talked about you." She conceded.

"Really? What did she say?" He asked excitedly.

"She's mostly been complaining about you and how you annoyed her." Rachel admitted.

Instead of looking discouraged though, Leo actually looked proud. "Perfect! That means I'm on her mind! I love the girls that play hard to get!" He stated.

"Well, she has been talking non-stop about you." Rachel noted.

I groaned and said "Don't encourage him!"

"Yes! Leo Valdez, Bad Boy Supreme, getting in the ladies heads!" He whooped.

I sighed and said "I swear, not all of my friends are like this."

She just smiled good-naturedly and said "Don't worry, I like him."

"Then I think you might actually be crazy. Anyway, here's the rest of my friends." I said, steering her towards my friends, snd most importantly, away from a dancing Leo.

"Ahh, so you're the infamous RED! Pleasure to meet you, I'm Nico Di Angelo, Percy's cousin." He greeted her normally.. Except for the weird British accent. Why the hell was he speaking with a British accent?! I gave him a weird look, but started introducing everyone else.

"This is Jason, he's-" I started introducing him, but he interrupted me.

"- I'm his roommate! I major in political science. At NYU" He stated.

I just gave him a weird look but continued. "So, yeah. He's my roommate. That's Piper, " I said, pointing at Piper, who waved, and said "I'm Jason's girlfriend. I major in Psychology at NYU."

I gave her a stunned look, she just winked at me while Jason was holding his laughter in. Seriously? Do they have to make this complicated?

"Right.. So that's his girlfriend? That'S Thalia, Jason's half-sister-"

"And Percy's ex-girlfriend. An dI major in Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies also at NYU. " She said casually. I gave her a WTF- look., she just mouther 'you'Re welcome' at me. What the fuck is wrong with my friends? Why are they making everything so difficult?

Rachel looked surprised. "Oh, nice to meet you." She said in a tone I couldn't quite place.

"So you guys used to date?" She directed the question to me.

I started sweating, because I realize that if I deny this she'll think that I still have feeling for Thalia. "Yeah, but we're not anymore."

"Yeah, we broke up because Percy was just too good of a lover." Thalia told her.

"Wait, I thought you told me you were a virgin." Rachel told me.

"I am!" I answered.

"Did I say lover? I meant boyfriend. Yeah, Percy was just the best boyfriend ever but I wanted to have casual partners so he broke up with me." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay..." Rachel said.

"Moving on, " I said desperately trying to change the subject, "This is Annabeth, you already met her."

"Oh yeah, nice to see you again!" Rachel greeted her.

"I wish I could say the same." Annabeth muttered. I elbowed her and gave her a look.

"This is Hazel, my other cousin and Nico's half-sister." I told her.

She waved at Rachel and said "Hey, pleasure to meet you! I major in, uhh..Classics" With a southern drawl. Damn, they even got Hazel in on this?

"That's her boyfriend, Frank. That's-"

"Hey, I'm a Chinese exchange student." he interrupted me. Rude.

"Oh, that's cool. How do you find America so far?" Rachel asked him.

He looked nervous when she asked him that. Frank never was the best liar. "It's very different, very different indeed from China."

"How so?" She questioned him.

He started sweating. "Well, there are... less Chinese people." He started. "And uh... more American people... and.."

It was starting to get too awkward for me and I was starting to feel really bad for Frank so I said "Rachel, I lied."

"What?" She asked me.

"I lied. I'm not a student at NYU and neither are they, oh and I don't major in Marine Biology. I'm still a student in high school. " I confessed.

"How could you lie to me like that?" She asked me, with a hurt look in her eyes. "You've been lying to me the whole time and even got your friends to?"

"Umm... We're just gonna leave you two alone.." Leo muttered in the background.

It started raining, but neither of us noticed.

"I'm sorry." I told her.

"Why would you even lie to me about that?"

"I don't know.. You were wearing my shirt, and it was so short and I panicked. I wasn't thinking when you asked me where I studied." I explained.

"I don't know if I can trust you anymore." She told me.

"I promise, I won't lie to you ever again." I said in my most serious voice. "I'm serious." I told her when I saw her skeptical look. "I will not lie to you ever again. Starting now: Nico is not British, Jason isn't my roommate,and as far as I know Piper isn't his girlfriend, Hazel doesn't usually have a southern drawl, Frank isn't a Chinese exchange student and Thalia most definitely isn't my ex-girlfriend! Come on, give me another chance Rach. I like you and I want to see where this is going. "

"I don't know Percy... I don't even know anything about you!"

"We can change that! Let me take you out on a date, a real date, this Friday. I'm talking dinner and a movie and stargazing. The works." I said, giving her my most charming smile.

"Dinner AND a movie? How can a girl say no to that?" She answered, and I knew she was giving me a second chance. I am not messing this up. I really like Rachel, a lot.

"Don't forget stargazing." I told her, getting closer.

"I'd never." She whispered, also coming closer. When she was at arm's reach, I grabbed her and twirled her in the rain before kissing her. And yeah, it was pretty much the best rain kiss I've ever had.

* * *

 **As promised another chapter on Tuesday. It's not as long as I would've liked, but I'm kind of stuck in the story right now. Like, I know where I want to go with this story but I'm having trouble getting there. I'm gonna try speeding things up next chapter, because in my opinion, it's becoming a little too slow-paced for me. But hey, leave your thoughts in the reviews I always enjoy reading them. And the feedback is much appreciated. The next chapter will come out either Wednesday or Thursday, I promise. Thanks for the people that have reviewed, are reviewing or will review. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, if not then I'm sorry and I sincerely hope you'll enjoy the next one.**

 **In the last chapter I was seriously considering making Derek a jerk through his back story, I really was so that you guys and me could hate him in peace, and I even started the chapter out like that. But then I realised that there was no way Annabeth would ever date a jerk. She's hella prideful, so she'd never stand for a guy dominating her and cheating on her like that. Maybe a 14-year old Annabeth who's starting to build up a self-esteem, but definitely not a 16-year old Annabeth who knows how great she is (maybe a little too much, if you know what I mean.) I know the characters in this story are OOC, but letting Annabeth date a guy that everyone knows is a jerk would feel like I'm violating her character somehow. Not like that. It would be like making Nico dress preppy, it just isn't done. Or at least, that's my opinion.**

 **To Guest: Thank you! I try hard not to make the character too OOC. And as for Leo: I try dude, I try. Sometimes I worry that I'm not doing his character justice, because he isn't just a comedic relief, you know? He's been trough a lot of shit an dI don't know how to work that into the story, mostly because it's centered around Percy. So thank you, I'm glad you enjoy my writing :)**

 **To other Guest: Aww! Thank you! This is so weird, omg. My story is someone's favourite store. MY story. I'm just here like 'whaaa? you sure about that?'. I never thought someone would ever, EVER, like my story enough to be their favourite story, so thank you!**

 **To NONAME2002: Sorry bro, but I couldn't do it. Annabeth would never date a jerk and I don't think I've got the skills to convince all of you why she would date one. As for perchal... We'll just have to wait and see :)**

 **To another Guest: Thank you! I was really worried that the group discussion would seem to ramble-y, because it kinda felt like i was rambling/writing like that. And I really did consider making Derek a bad guy, but Annabeth would never date a bad guy and I don't have the skills yet to convince you guys otherwise. As for her feelings... Guess we'll have to wait and see :)**

 **To Kale97: Hope you liked this chapter then. I didn't want this to be a pic where all Percy has to do is say 'I love you!' and then he an dANnabeth get together directly. Real life isn't like that and just because you love someone doesn't mean you guys will end up together. I'm trying to make this sort of realistic, although it is hard since I've never actually been in love, so I'm pretty much winging it at those parts. And I'm a firm believer in finishing what I started. I know what it's like to love fall in love with a story, only for the author to discontinue it. I don't ever wanna do that to you guys. Thanks for reviewing, and have a nice day! :)**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious:Thanks! I'm glad I can brighten your day just a little bit with an update! :)**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thanks! And you lucky bastard! Here I gotta wait 'till I'm 18, before I can even take the practical exam :( But in other news, I am looking forward to the freedom I'll get when I finally get my license. Now just a car...**

 **To BECKENDORK: Thanks dude! I try, I try :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Percy's POV  
Okay, today's the day. My big date with Rachel. Gods, I'm so nervous. The past week just blurred past me, honestly. The school surprisingly didn't even bat an eye on Tuesday, just like Leo said. And thanks to my big study session on Sunday, I'm pretty much ahead of everyone else, in fact if I wanted to I could literally just sleep all day at school and still ace a pop quiz. But hey, that's just me.

Thalia and Nico have been acting... Strange I guess. They've been arguing a lot more, it's gotten ridiculous. Whenever they start, everyone just leaves because their fights could last for hours and hours. Whenever I ask Nico about it, he just smiles like he knows something I don't and says 'Don't worry about it Perce, you'll understand when you're older.' It's annoying, but a lot better than Thalia's responses which is 'What? You'd rather I make out with Nico all the time? Huh? Is that what you want to see?!' followed by a hard punch to the arm and her laughing. I'm not the only one to notice their weird behavior either. We all agreed that we should have an intervention for them, whatever it is that causes them to fight with each other, it's gotta stop.

Things between me and Annabeth is back to normal, mostly.. I don't know, there's this weird tension between us I can't really explain. It's like whenever we're with our friends everything is completely normal, we're Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl. But whenever we're alone...

Well, it's just weird. We can't really talk to each other like we used to and we're definitely not as close as before. That part is my fault actually. I don't want to get close to her and fall even more for her than I already have. It sucks, because I kinda sorta really miss hanging out with her. A lot. But I hate hearing about her and Derek, and that seems to be all she's talking about. But whenever I start talking about Rachel, she gets all bored and disinterested, what's that about? Not to mention how Rachel's hanging out with the group, she argues with Rachel constantly. It's like I'm their buffer or something.

Speaking of Rachel, I've been speaking to her. A lot. I like to think of it as a pre-date, you know. Give her a little preview of what's to come. We've been texting non-stop, and after school instead of going to Annabeth's and doing homework, I grab a cup of coffee with Rachel at our (now) favorite coffee place.

Anyway, I am so ready for this date. I planned it out, to the detail. I know what I'm gonna wear (white button-up shirt, with a black tie and black jeans and my black converse), which movie we're watching and got the picnic ready with a place to eat it under the stars.

"Relax hermano, you look so hot right now, even I'd jump your bones." Leo reassured me.

"Psh, have you seen yourself? I give it 2 days tops before Khione caves and calls you." I told him.

"You know it! I'm thinking when she does, we totally have to double-date! We can be each other's wingmen" He hollered back.

My eyes widened at this, I just raised my fist and said "Bro."

"Okay, as much as I hate to break up this bro-mance you guys gooing on, ,and trust me I live for them, I've got to ask: You sure about this Perce?" Nico interrupted.

"What do you mean?" I asked confusedly.

"Well, about you and Rachel of course. It's not too late to back down you know." He answered back.

"Why would he back down?" Jason asked Nico.

"Well, because he's in love with-"Nico started.

I cleared my throat loudly, interrupting him in the process and giving him a pointed look.

"In love with..?" Jason asked, with Grover and Frank leaning in for the answered. Yeah, I got all the guys here for last-minute advice, and because normally we were gonna have bro's night-in our recently acquired tradition.

"Taco's!" Leo blurted out.

"Umm.. What?" Grover asked confusedly.

I sighed dramatically, deciding to go with Leo's answer, and 'confessed' "Guys, I guess I can't hide it anymore... I'm still in love with Taco's. I tried getting over it, but I just can't. That's why this date with Rachel is really important and also why we're gonna be eating pasta."

Leo gave me a thumbs up, while Nico just groaned, shook his head and muttered 'Idiots..' under his breath.

"I am so confused right now.." Frank admitted.

Jason just narrowed his eyes at me and said "We are talking about this after your date dude."

Leo just put his arm over my shoulder and said seriously "Jason... There's nothing to taco about."

I held in my laugh and said "Yeah, bro. And don't worry so much, it's nacho problem."

I shared a look with Leo and we just started laughing.

"Gods... You guys were annoying enough, before your whole bromance." Jason groaned.

I wiped a tear from my eye and said "Okay guys, this has been fun! I'm not nervous anymore, so thank you for that. I should get going though, I do not want to be late for this date. I'll see you guys later tonight, if not then it's one of the two options. 1. Rachel is actually a serial killer and drowned me in the sea or 2. I got some. I think we all know which one is more likely."

"Option one." Nico answered.

"What? No! It's option-" I started incredulously, because seriously? What the hell?!

"Sorry buddy, but I've got to agree. It's probably option one." Jason interrupted.

"Yeah, it does seem more likely." Grover agreed.

"That would explain the red stains we see on her shirts all the time." Frank theorized.

"That's because she paints!" I exploded. "Seriously, this is getting ridi-"

"Oh! Her serial killer name: The Oracle. Making predictions of people's deaths and making sure they come true." Leo exclaimed.

"Dude.. That just gave me chills." Jason told him.

"Yeah, that could actually be a story." Grover theorized.

"Oh! What if the way she murders people is based Ancient Greek rituals?" Frank added.

"This is brilliant! This would make an awesome horror book. We should write all of this down." Nico commented.

I just sighed, why does this always happen to me? I ask them a simple question and they've got to make it all confusing and complicated. "Guys!" I shouted. "I'm pretty sure Rachel is NOT a murdered. I can't believe I even have to say that out loud."

"I don't know Perce, after everything we just heard about her... I don't think it's a good idea, going on this date with her." Nico told me.

I slapped my face. "You guys just made up all of that, right now!" I exploded.

"I agree with Nico, you should just stay home and write this book with us." Leo advised.

"We'd split the profit evenly." Jason proposed.

"Oh! Wouldn't it be awesome if it turned into a movie?" Frank asked.

"Frank, I'll be Frank... I like the way you think." Leo high fived him.

"Oh, what if we add like a snake voice whenever she makes a prediction, or better yet, a prophecy?" Grover added.

Nico's eyes widened. "Yes, yes! We should totally do this in the movie! Why aren't we writing this down?!" He said, getting up to get pen and paper.

I just shook my head and sighed. "Okay guys. Have fun with that. I'm going." I said, grabbing ma jacket.

"It's your loss Perce, we'll be swimming in dough from this movie and book while you'll be kicking yourself for missing out on this opportunity." Leo shouted.

"We'll look for you in the Hudson." Jason added.

I just slammed the door on my way out.

Thalia's POV  
It's the first girls-night in, where all of the girls are actually present, for what feels like forever. I can't even remember the last time all of the girls were present for girls-night in. We'Re all kinda pissed at Percy, for not coming to US, girls, for last-minute dating advice for his big date with Rachel. Whatever. Doesn't matter anyway. Not like we wanted to.

"I can't believe he didn't come to US for help." Piper exclaimed.

"I know! The guys suck at giving advice." I answered.

"We could go over there before he leaves to make sure he doesn't do something stupid or follow the guys' advice." Hazel proposed.

"Why should we care? He didn't come to us, so it isn't our fault if he messes up his date with Rachel." Annabeth said in a bored voice.

"Because he's our friend!" Piper answered. "That's why we should care. Rachel makes him happy, and as a friend, don't you want him to be happy?"

"Why her though? She's like way too old for him. He should be going out with someone from his own generation." Annabeth complained.

I laughed. "Annabeth, she is from our generation. She's only like a year and a half older than Percy." I pointed out.

She just huffed "Whatever."

"I do like your idea of going over to the guys. I wanna know what they're doing on 'bro's night' ." Piper said to Hazel.

"Yeah, me too. That way, if we miss Perce before he leaves for his date, we can still catch him after and get all the details directly." I added. What? Don't look at me like that! Fine, I was also wondering what Nico was doing. He never talked about bro's night, and I'm really curious. And I guess I kinda sorta miss him, just a little bit though. Shut up.

"Excellent. So it's agreed, we going to the guys?" Piper asked. We were all looking at Annabeth, since she was the only one who seemed against the idea.

She just sighed and whined. "Do we have to? I don't wanna hear him gush about Rachel!"

Hazel just gave her the puppy dog eyes and said "Pleeeease?"

"Fine. Fine! Gang up on me like that! Totally not unfair." She answered sarcastically.

"Yes!" Piper and Hazel high fived.

"Great, let's take my car." I said and we were gone.

-Line Break-

I don't know what we were expecting when we snuck into Percy's apartment, but it definitely wasn't that. There was papers littered and drawings, of a redhead with green smoke coming out her eyes, nose and mouth, all over the place. The guys were dressed like us (in pajamas's), arguing about wether she'd kill some guys named Peter (I think he's talking about Peter Vale from our school) because she's sacrificing him to Zeus, or because she's sacrificing him to Apollo.

"Dude, obviously she's sacrificing him to Zeus. He's the KING of the Gods!" Jason argued.

"Umm, so what? It's Apollo that gives her the power to see the future!" Frank challenged.

"I'm pretty sure she'd be sacrificing him to Hades, seeing as how she's sending him to the Underworld." Nico proclaimed.

"Seeing as how she burned him alive, I think it's safe to say she's sacrificing him to Hephaestus." Leo argued.

We've been standing here for like five minutes and they still haven't noticed we were here. What the hell are they talking about?!

"Umm... guys." Grover called out.

"Are you guys stupid or just idiots? Because Zeus is the KING, case closed." Jason said 'matter-of-factly'.

"So what? All he does is laze around all day." Nico challenged.

"Guys?" Grover tried again.

"What, and Hades doesn't?" Frank argued.

Nico was about to answer, when Grover shouted "GUYS! We're not alone."

"What?" Leo asked.

"We're not alone." He repeated pointing to us.

Nico fell over from the chair and exclaimed "Holy shit! Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

Grover just shot him a dirty look.

"Hey guys, we wanted to see if we could catch Perce and give him some last-minute advice." Piper started.

"But instead, we find you guys arguing over who to sacrifice Peter to?" Annabeth finished in a confused tone.

The guys all got sheepish looks on their faces. "It'S not what you think." Frank told us.

"Yeah, yeah. We're just writing this book/movie." Nico explained.

"What about?" I asked.

The guys all shared a look and a mental conversation before Leo answered.

"It's about this female serial killer, RED the Oracle, and this guy Peter Johnson who's going on a date with her. He doesn't know she's a serial killer, or that she predicted his death."

"Yeah, you see. She predicts people's deaths and makes sure those 'prophecy's' come true. The way she kills them is based on ancient Greek rituals." Nico added.

"Peter Johnson doesn't know all of this. He met her at a club with his friend Leonard Vaile, and fell for her charms." Frank continued.

"Because, you see he had a sort of seemingly unrequited love for his best friend Annabelle Chambers. That one, was Nico's brilliant idea." Grover added.

"And that's all we have so far." Jason finished.

"Holy shit! That's really good!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'd totally read that." Piper commented.

"How does it end though?" Hazel asked them.

"We'Re not sure yet." Frank admitted.

"But now that you're here, you guys could help us!" Jason proposed.

"Yeah, we'll split the profit evenly." Grover told us. Leo elbowed him and whispered "Dude, shut up. They don't know anything about the profit!"

"Hey, I heard that Valdez." I shouted.

He laughed and started sweating. "Whaat? I don't... I don't know what you're talking about beautiful!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, and saw Nico do the same. That made my heart flutter, but now is not the time to think about that. "You want to do this the easy way...2 I started, cracking my knuckles "... or the hard way?"

He gulped and said "Fine. You guys get a cut. Don't hurt the face! It's my money maker!"

I smiled smugly and said "That's more like it."

Nico just laughed beside me and muttered very quietly to himself "Gods, I love you."

I stiffened at that. Did he just...? Did he just say he loves me?

Percy' POV  
I was almost late because of those idiots. I grumbled to myself, but the moment Rachel opened the door I forgot all of it. Well... Almost. I was still thinking/paranoid that she might be a serial killer. Because she just about killed all of my brain cell with the way she looked tonight.

She wore this short black skirt, that showed off her legs in the most perfect way, with black flats and this black blouse with a low cut.

I gulped and could only say one word "Wow."

She just smiled and said "That was exactly what I was going for."

"Wow."

"Is that all you'Re gonna say?"

"Wow." I said, nodding my head.

She just laughed and said "Okay then. Let's go."

"Wow." I agreed.

And we were off.

* * *

 **Here, as promised a new chapter.I hoped you guys enjoyed this one, because I kinda feel like I got off track a lot here. I don't even know, I'm just super tired so I'm not 100% sure it all makes sense. I mean, it makes sense to me right now, but I am pretty sleep-deprived. It's the week before the vacation, so of course all of my teachers decided to give us a shit ton of homework and test this week. But, I promised you guys this chapter, and dammit! I try to keep my promises, enough of them get broken already. Okay, we're getting off topic now. The next chapter will come out either Saturday or Sunday (although there's a slim chance that it'll be updated tomorrow). I should normally be able to update a little more next week, seeing as how it's vacation. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter, if so I'd appreciate it if you tell what you liked and why, if not I'd really appreciate it if you also tell me why and how I can improve this story. Oh and before I forget, don't forget to vote on the poll (who should Percy end up with?) on my profile. That's pretty much it, take care guys and I'll see you in the next one.**

 **To Sally Stevens: Sorry to hear that! I'm thinking you'll enjoy next chapter a lot more ;) As for how long this story's gonna be: My original goal was like around 25 to 30 chapters, but that was before I realised how hard it is to write fan fiction. There's still a lot I'd like to happen in the story, but if I had to give you a guesstimation it would be around 35 to 40 chapters. So.. still like 8 chapters minimum, 13 chapters maximum to go (probably). I hope that answers your question, sort of.**

 **To Kale97: That's... a great idea actually. I'm really gonna take that into consideration! Thank you for that! As for the offer: Yeah, sounds great! You can Pm if it still stands, or I'll Pm you. Whichever you'd prefer. I don't want it to feel like I'm pressuring you or something. I'd understand if you want to keep that private, completely. Thanks in advance though!**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Okay, thanks for the criticism. I hope this one seems better paced than the last one.  
And yeah, it kinda sucks but it's okay. Where I live, you're allowed to drink at 16, which kinda confuses me. I'm allowed to drink, but not drive. And yeah, I suppose it really doesn't matter which car you drive, as long as it gets you there. I don't know if this'll sound weird, but I kinda think it's cool that you drive a truck, but I can't really tell you why. I confuse myself sometimes..**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: Thanks! I was worried it was gonna be too short.**

 **To BlackThorn47: Wow, I can't believe I actually inspired someone to write! I don't know what to say, to be honest. Thank you? I guess! I'm glad I could be of help. And sorry, I haven't really had time to check out your story yet, but I promise, as soon as I read it I'll Pm you whatever tips I could possibly have. Sound good?**

 **To BECKENDORK: Thanks, man. I've been wrestling with that for a while now. i keep think 'Should I rewrite that and make Derek a jerk? Was that a good idea?" It's been driving me nuts! I'm glad you liked my decision though :) And I guess I though this story was slow-paced, because my original goal was like 25 to 30 chapters for this story. But there's still so much that's gotta happen, and I'm already at chapter 27. So, i don't know. Maybe I underestimated the chapter count, or something. Glad you like the story though :)**

 **To NONAME2002: Oh dear...**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

Percy's POV  
There's good news and bad news. The good news: I have regained my ability to speak in proper sentences (that do not involve: Wow.). The bad news: I can't seem to stop talking. We were currently in my car, about to leave for this cultural cinema, because Rachel loves foreign movies with subtitles, and so far I've been babbling like an idiot explaining where we're going.

"So yeah, we're going to be watching this German movie with subtitles called 'Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari' because I know you like horror movies, but also foreign ones. I'm not sure what it's about but I know that it's old, like really really old, I'm talking black and white, no color, old. Speaking about black and white, did you know that Psycho was released in black and white because Hitchcock kept receiving backlash about the shower scene being too gory? I personally have nothing against gory movies, since what you see is what you get. It's the psychological horror movie that get to me, because it's all in your head. In fact the first-"

She interrupted me by in, what in my opinion, is the best way possible. By kissing me. Yup, that shut me up.

When she pulled away, I forgot just about everything including my nerves.

"Okay now that I have you attention: Before we go to the movies could we eat that picnic first? I'm starving. And I need to tell you something important. Really important."

"Hm? I kinda, uhh... Right! I planned the picnic part for after the movie.." I told her.

"Please? I have to tell you something really, really, really important." She pleaded, and I melted at those puppy eyes she was giving me. "Plus it's not like I'm gonna kill you or something." She joked.

I fake laughed at that, my mind going to the conversation I had with the guys earlier. 'Could she be a..? Nah, they were just making that shit up. Still... No. No! Although.. It is kinda sketchy and she's really insisting on having the picnic, which she knows will be in a secluded place, no one to hear you scream for help.. NO! Stop! Rachel is NOT a serial killer. Don't let the guys get to you! However..'

I cleared my throat, and my thoughts. "Yeah, okay. What the lady wants, the lady gets." I said in a British accent, because reasons.

-Line Break-

I went to this secluded spot in Central Park where a romantic picnic was already set up. All I had to do, was light the candles and voilà instant romance.

"Wow.. Percy. You really went all out for this date.." She said, but weirdly enough not in a happy tone. In fact it kinda sounded.. I don't know.. Rueful.

"What? This? Psh, barely spent a second setting this up. I do have other things to do, you know." I said nonchalantly. Man I do not like acting like I don't care. This is not me, at all.

And then she said the four words that never, in the history of conversations, lead to something good. "We need to talk."

Nico's POV  
"I wonder how Percy's date is going." Hazel thought out loud.

"If he follows our advice.." Jason started.

"... then it should be going just great!" Leo finished.

Piper just groaned at that. So far, we didn't get any further on our novel/screen play because it pretty much depends on Percy's date, although the girls don't know that (I think). He is our source of inspiration, literally. The girls helped with the backstory of the RED oracle, but after that, we're stuck.

"Okay, what did you idiots tell him?" Piper asked us.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Leo said.

"Yeah! We give great advice!" Jason added.

Piper just gave them a deadpan look.

Eventually Leo huffed and said "We told him to take her to the movies, that's all." We all muttered our agreements.

The girls just looked appalled at that.

"What?" I asked them confused.

"You don't seriously think that taking a girl to the movies on a first date is a good idea? Right?" Thalia asked me seriously.

I just gave her an incredulous stare. "Of course I do! It's a classic dating spot, used by our fathers, our grandfathers and probably our great-grandfathers!" I explained.

She just looked horrified at my response.

"Okay, seriously. Why is taking a girl to the movies such a bad idea?" Jason wondered.

"Yeah, I always though it was the perfect date." Grover mentioned.

The girls just looked at each other like they couldn't believe us. Like we were the ones acting crazy.

"Frank, you didn't agree with that, did you?" Hazel asked him worried.

He just looked confused, like the rest of us. "Of course I did. What's so bad about taking a girl to the movies on a first date?"

"Should I tell them?" Annabeth asked the rest of the girls.

"No, allow me." Thalia said, her eyes narrowed at me "Let's think about this concept for a moment so I can emphasise the utter folly of this idea. You meet a girl, you ask her out on a date and she accepts. You think to yourself: 'Hmm where can I take this attractive girl that would give me the best chance of getting to know her, connecting with her, seeing if I like her, and potentially forming a relationship with her?' It has to be someplace where we could talk, have fun, get intimate, and hopefully even get physical. Where but where should I go that meets these pretty standard requirements? Ah, yes, the movies!"

"I.. still don't see anything wrong with that." Leo told her.

"What do you mean you still don't see anything wrong with that?!" Piper exploded. "The movies is the last, and I do mean the last place to go that meets these very basic qualifications for a good first date!"

"Yeah! When you go to the movies you literally have nothing to do but sit quietly and watch the movie. You're positioned away from your girl, you have this stupid cup-holding barricade in between you two and you'll desperately and unsuccessfully try to come up with funny comments relating to the movie. You'll basically sit through two hours of torture watching some crappy movie about god-knows-what, and when it finally ends and the lights turn on, you've virtually spent two boring and awkward-filled hours with a complete stranger!" Annabeth added.

"She knows nothing about you, finds you less attractive, and wants nothing more than to go home and never see you again." Hazel concluded.

The guys all looked at each other when Frank said what we were all thinking "Oh god..."

"We really messed." Grover noted.

"No shit, Sherlock." Thalia said.

"Please, please, please tell me that's the ONLY advice you gave him." Piper told us.

We all looked away.

"What else did you tell him?" Thalia said in a warning tone.

Jason cleared his throat."We.. uh.. We may or may not have told him to act like he isn't all that interested." He coughed out.

"Please tell me you'e kidding right now." Piper pleaded.

"Now that I think about it, it doesn't sound as great as I though it did." Leo admitted.

"Yeah.. In fact it sounds awful." Frank added.

"Percy's protests makes a lot more sense now." Jason noted.

"Why on earth did we even think that that was a great idea?" Grover wondered out loud.

I looked at each of the guys in the eyes and said "We're idiots."

"And this is exactly why Percy should've asked us for advice." Piper stated.

And somehow we all separated into little groups. Piper started arguing with Jason and Leo, Hazel started scolding Frank, Annabeth started educating Grover on dating and I was left alone with a pissed off Thalia. Great.

"Nico, can I talk to you privately." She said in a deceptively sweet voice, in case someone was listening.

I gulped and answered "Nah, I'm good. I'd prefer to talk to you here, where there are, you know, witnesses."

"I wasn't asking." And with that she dragged me into Percy's room, not that anyone noticed.

She locked the door and turned to me. "You weren't actually planning on taking me to the movies on our first official date now, were you?"

I gulped, because honestly? Yeah, I totally was planning exactly just that. "What? No, of course not!" I said in a nervous tone and faked laugh just to be sure.

"Good, because if you did I'd make you regret it for the rest of your life." She threatened.

"Consider me warned." I told her honestly. "Besides, it was Leo's idea." I said quickly.

"I'll have to speak with Leo next." She said. Sorry Leo, better you than me.

"Soooooo... Is that al you wanted to talk about?" I asked her nervously.

"What? Want to get rid of me that quickly?" She teased.

"Of course not, Pinecone Face! I like spending time with you. Just not when you're potentially pissed. Which, now that I think about, is always. Huh."

"So, what you're saying is that you don't like spending time with me?" She said in a warning tone.

My eyes widened at that. "No, no, no. You're getting it all wrong. I like spending time with you. In fact, I love spending time with you. I just don't like it, when you're mad at me." I tried explaining.

"Which, according to you, is always." She said crossly.

"What? I didn't mean it like that. I was just kidding!"

"Yeah, well you know what? Then I guess I'll just stay here and make out with you. Whoops no wait, now I was just kidding." And then she slammed the door. Great, I just pissed of my sorta-kinda-but-not-official-so-I-guess-not-really-girlfriend.

Girls.

Why do they always have to make things complicated?

Percy's POV  
'Okay, don't panic. Act disinterested, just like the guys told you and she'll be putty in your hands' I thought to myself. But I couldn't. I mean, I already told Rachel that I really liked her, so what's the use acting like I don't? Man, I should've used that as an argument. You know what? Screw it, I'm just gonna follow my instincts. I mean, I'm already taking her to the movies like the guys told me to.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" I asked her, giving her my full attention.

"Listen, Percy.. There's no easy way to tell you this.." She started.

"Oh gods... You're a serial killer, aren't you?" I said horrified. "Are you gonna kill me? Dammit, I'm too young to die!"

"What? NO! I'm not a serial killer! Why would you even think that?" She said in a confused tone.

I gave her a sheepish look and scratched the back of my neck. "No reason... The guys just completely confused me, they were talking about blood and snakes and yeah... I got paranoid.. It's stupid really." I rambled. "Not that I think you're a serial killer, I'm just really nervous 'cause it's dark and we're alone and-"

"Percy.." She interrupted me. "After I met you, I applied to this art-project. It's called Operation Oracle, and long story short: I got in."

My eyes widened at that. "That's great! I'm so happy for you!" I told her excitedly.

She smiled. "Yeah, it is. I never would've applied if it weren't for you."

"Me? What did I do?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Last Saturday night at the club?"

And then I remembered:

FLASHBACK: SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE CLUB  
" _Let's do body shots!" Khione shouted._

" _Hell yeah!" Rachel agreed, looking at me like a predator._

" _Oh, no no no no. I do not do body shots." I told them. "You guys go ahead."_

 _Khione just shrugged and went off looking for a body to do shots on._

 _Rachel just dragged me to the bar and ordered ten shots of tequila._

" _If you're not gonna do body shots, then you're gonna get drunk, and when I say drunk I'm talking about blackout 'what the fuck happened last night?' drunk. No excuses." She said._

 _I could really use a blackout, I reasoned. "Sure, what the hell. Let's do this!"_

 _-Line Break-_

" _Rachel. Racheeel. That's a funny name." I said slowly. "You know what? We should totally start a girlband together! You'll be the bassist and I'll be the singer! Where's your friend? She can be the guitarist! Oh, now we just need a drummer. Screw it, we don't need no stinking drummer. We'll make a million bucks, because we'll look like a million bucks. We can call ourselves the Purple Spider Doves!"_

 _She smiled at me and said "Yup, you've definitely had enough to drink."_

" _You're so nice.. You know that?" And then I started crying. "I wish I could be as nice as you."_

" _Shh.. Percy, you're nice." She comforted me._

" _Really? You really think so?"_

" _Well... I just sorta met you, but sure, yeah.. I think you're nice so far."_

" _That is the nichest thing anyone has ever said to me. I should return the favor. I think you're amazing."_

 _She laughed "Thanks Percy. I appreciate it."_

" _Ish no problem. I always wanted to be a merman when I wash a kid." I admitted._

" _That's nice.. Wait. Really?"_

" _Yesh, I made drawings and everything. Now your turn, what do you want to be?"_

 _She looked at me amusedly. "You really want to know?"_

 _"More than anythshing." I said as serious as I could._

" _Oh, what the hell you won't even remember this. There's this art-project that I really want to apply to, it would be amazing if I got in. I'd get to travel the world and study different cultures and art styles."_

" _Buuut?"_

 _"But, I probably won't even get it so what's the use trying? Plus then I'd have to leave New York."_

 _"Oh my gersh, you did not just say that! Rashel, you are a Purple Spider Dove, you can literally do anyshing! Promise me, no wait, pinky promise me you'll apply."_

" _No, Percy, it's stupid. You won't even reme-"_

" _Promise me." I repeated, holding her stare._

" _Okay, I promise I'll apply." She relented, hooking her pinky with mine._

" _You just made a pinky promish. That means, if you *hiccup* if you don't follow trough, legally I'm allowed to cut off your pinky."_

" _Wait. What?"_

" _Oh, gods, I think 'm gonna puke. EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY! Oh, no wait false-" and then I puked on the dance floor.  
_ END FLASHBACK

"Oh, gods... I really did not want to remember that." I groaned.

She laughed and said "Yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget it. Anyway, if it weren't for you I probably wouldn't have applied."

"Well... I'm glad drunk me is supportive. Although his ideas suck, I mean seriously? The Purple Spider Doves? That is the worst name I've ever heard! I mean-"

"Getting off track here, Perce."

"Right, sorry.. Continue."

Rachel took a shaky breath. "Percy when I came here... I thought I was coming for you. But I wasn't. Not really. I've made my decision a while ago, and talking to you for the past week just made it clearer. You and me... " She shook her head.

"Wait." I said. "What are you talking about?"

"You gave me the confidence to pursue my dream, my destiny, but it's not here.. In a way, you opened doors for me. But you and me- that isn't part of it. Our fates aren't intertwined. And I think you've always known that, on some level."

I stared at her. Maybe I wasn't the brightest guy in the world when it came to girls, but I was pretty sure Rachel was dumping me, which sucked because we haven't really started dating yet. It's like she's ending this, whatever 'this' is, before it could even start.

"I don't understand! I thought everything was good between you and me. Why? We can always try long-distance."

"I need to travel, my destiny is out there. But you, you need to stay here. You've got unfinished business here. You like me, but you love Annabeth."

My eyes widened at that. "That's ridicu-"

"-I'm not blind. I see the way you look at her Percy.. and I also see the way she looks at you."

"I... I.." I sighed. There's no use denying it. "I'm sorry. Gods Rach, I'm so sorry.."

"It's okay, honestly Percy. I'm fine. It's fine."

"If I never met her... Or if I met you first..."

"I know. Maybe in another world, maybe in another time, we would've... we could've.." But she didn't finish that sentence, she didn't have to. We both knew what she meant..

Rachel gave me a sad smile, kissed my cheek and walked out, out on our date, out of my life. For a crazy second there, I considered calling her back or running after her and kissing her, and I almost did, but in the end I didn't because I didn't think she'd want me to. Now is not the time. She wouldn't want me to stop her, would she? She knows I'm in love with another girl, I'd just be hurting her more by using her to get over Annabeth, and that's not fair to her. Rachel deserves better than that, better than me. All I'd ever be was a distraction to her. Maybe in the future, when we're both free, when we're both older, when we know what we want, when the time is right..

Had I been paying more attention, I would've heard her whisper:

"Please, stop me..."

* * *

 **Voilà, another chapter as promised. What did you guys think about it? Love it? Hate it? Didn't really care? Please, review and tell my why you loved/hated/... it, I appreciate the feedback. Don't forget to vote on the poll in my profile on who Percy should end up with, that way I can see which direction you guys want the story to go to. Next chapter will probably be out either tomorrow or Tuesday, depending on how motivated and (more importantly) how creative I'm feeling. I really do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and this is the part where I say 'because I enjoyed writing it' but dammit, I'm not gonna lie to you guys. I did NOT enjoy writing this chapter, I don't like writing sad scenes. I don't feel like I could portray them correctly, mostly because I haven't had many sad scenes in my own life. It just does not feel natural to me, but I had to here and it made me sad.**

 **To Casnky: Thank you! I try my best :)**

 **To Geezer: I'll take your suggestion into consideration :)**

 **To VCRx: Thanks dude! And so do I, but I though it would've been more fun if I got the guys involved XD. Oh shit, you know what? You probably shouldn't read this chapter.. *Laughs nervously, slowly walking out the door..***

 **To Kale97: Thanks so much for everything you've done so far! You the real MVP! :D**

 **To Guarian'sDragonOfDeath: Thanks, I try.. Plus, that sounds really confusing. Like, what's gonna stop the person serving the drink from drinking it? That sounds pretty stupid to me. Then again, I do live in a country where you can legally have sex before you're allowed t drive, so I guess I can't really talk.**

 **To UsernameKF: Well.. I kinda feel like I sort of burned that bridge with this chapter.. But thanks, I'll think about your suggestion, though probably with someone else.. And I try my best to let you guys know when I'll update, because even though I may not be the best writer, at least I'm punctual and that's gotta count for something, right?**

 **To Guessst: Derchel.. Is it weird that I kinda liked the idea?**

 **To Starbreaker195: Thank you! I try my best, frankly sometimes it feels like I'm stumbling through a forest in the dark, without a flashlight and all I can do is walk forward and hope I don't fall.. And as for the whole Annabeth thing, very observant by the way, I was planning on that scene in the future.. I'm thinking it's gonna be dramatic, because you know, it's more fun that way :)**

 **To NONAME2002:...*clears throat*... Right. Well.. This is awkward.. You probably shouldn't read this chapter... *laughs nervously whilst grabbing my passport and walking out of the door***

 **To WASSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUP: Thanks dude, I'll take your advice into account. It'll be hard though, I don't particularly like or enjoy reading my old chapters mostly because I have to cringe at some of the stuff I see. I'd like to think I've improved and looking back, I can see all of the mistakes I've made and I don't really like dwelling on my mistakes.  
**

 **To Guest: Thanks man! There's still so much I want to happen, and frankly I'm not even sure 40 chapters will be enough (I kid, I kid, mostly..) The last thing I want is to make my story feel rushed. I do sometimes worry I add too many unnecessary details, making the story longer than it should be. But hey, maybe that's just me.**

 **To all of the people that have reviewed, are reviewing, or will be reviewing: Thank you, so much! I appreciate the feedback! It motivates me and helps me a lot. I also want to thank everyone that stuck with me up to now, I really appreciate it. That's pretty much it, for now. So good night/morning/day/whatever time it is wherever you are and take care. :)**

 **Joy**


	29. Chapter 29

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters. I think I own the plot but these days, who knows?**

 **Percy's POV  
** I don't know what I expected honestly. I've been sitting in that same place in Central Park for God knows how long, just staring at the picnic I spent all day yesterday preparing. I knew that I probably should be cleaning up everything, but I didn't want to. In a way, it felt like if I did, then that was it. The end of my supposed-to-be-magical date with Rachel. I mean logically speaking it ended the moment I let Rachel walk away, I know that, but by cleaning everything up and heading home I'd be officially giving up. I probably would've stayed there all night, but apparently that wasn't what the universe wanted because it suddenly started raining. It started out as a drizzle that I could've ignored, but then it just started pouring. So with that, I packed everything up and headed home.

-Line Break-

With everything that happened between me and Rachel, I completely forgot that the guys were staying at my place for bro's night. So imagine my surprise when I entered my home and was greeted by not only all of the guys but also all of the girls. They were all arguing about wether they should do a Harry Potter marathon or a James Bond one. I was devising a plan on how to sneak into my room and just spend the rest of my life there without being caught, when Grover saw me. Shit. Should I just make a run for it?

Grover cleared his throat and tried getting their attention, with no luck might I add. "Guys."

"James Bond is a classic!" Nico argued.

"Booring." Thalia retorted.

"Oh yeah, because Harry Potter is so great." Jason said sarcastically.

"Guys?" Grover tried again.

"You shut your mouth! That is just blasphemy!" Piper gasped.

"James Bond is awesome, Harry Potter is lame." Leo announced.

"What are you talking about? You love Harry Potter!" Hazel protested.

"Well, yeah." Leo admitted. "But not if I could watch a bunch of awesome spy movies instead."

"Bull shit! You just want to watch a bunch of naked ladies!" Thalia argued.

"GUYS! Percy's back!" Grover all but shouted.

The moment he said that, I knew I should've just made a run for it, because all heads snapped back to my position.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Nico asked him. Grover shot him a dirty look in return and started mumbling a few choice swear words that I don't even wanna repeat.

"Umm... Heey guys. What's up?" I said sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?" Jason asked.

"Why are you wet?" Leo added

"What are the girls doing here?" I retorted.

"We came here to see if we could give you some last-minute advice before your date." Hazel answered.

"Speaking of, shouldn't you be that date right now?" Nico asked.

I ran my hand through my wet hair. "Something came up." I answered vaguely. I really don't feel like reliving that memory again. I just want to take a shower go to sleep and never wake up.

"What?" Frank asked curiously.

I scowled at the ground and muttered "It's nothing. I'm gonna take a shower."

I was on my way to the bathroom, when Nico blocked my path. "Dude, what happened?"

I sighed and asked "Can you let me go through? I want to take a shower."

"Not until you tell me what happened." He answered.

"No. I really want to take a shower. I'm soaking wet, so let me through." I barked.

He just stood his ground and said "Not until you tell me what happened."

"Why?"

"Because we care for you and want to know." He answered calmly, gesturing to everyone in the room. He got nods and words of agreement from everyone.

I just sighed and pleaded "After my shower..Please?"

He stared at me for a while before slowly nodding."Fine, after your shower. But you're gonna tell us everything, okay?"

"I promise." I relented.

-Line Break-

"So... what happened?" Leo asked, breaking the awkward silence from before. Everyone leaned in, interested in my answer.

I just sighed, for what felt like the millionth time that night. "Short version: Rachel dumped me. Or more like, I let her dump me I guess."

"What?" Jason said shocked.

"But I thought she liked you!" Piper exclaimed.

"She did! She does.. I don't know, it's complicated." I was glaring at the ground once more. I couldn't tell them that it was all because I'm in love with Annabeth and I'm kind of pissed off about that. All of this could've been avoided if I had just payed more attention to my feelings and wasn't completely oblivious.

"Is it because...?" Leo asked, giving looking at Annabeth and then at me.

"Partly." I admitted sadly.

"Because of what?" Annabeth asked confusedly.

"Umm... Let me just start from the beginning." I said hastily and recounted the tale from the beginning until the end, omitting the part about me being in love with Annabeth of course.

"... and then she walked away, but I didn't stop her or run after her." I finished my voice sounding broken even to me. "I just let her. I should've ran after her. Gods I'm so stupid! Of course I should've ran after her! Gods, what was I thinking!?" I panicked.

"No, Percy. You did the right thing!" Nico reassured me.

"Then why do I feel like crap?" I sniffed. "Why does it hurt so much?"

"It hurts, because it mattered." Leo answered. Everyone, even me stared at him.

"Bro." I said, giving him a fist bump because that was deep. And I don't care how sad I am, I am never too sad to give my bro a fist bump.

"What?" He said defensively. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"Uhhh, nothing. That was just deep, really really deep." Thalia said in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, and we didn't know you could actually be deep." Frank admitted.

"I take offense to that." Leo said. "I can be deep you know, I just choose not to be. Makes me feel all weird and wise. That's not in my job description. But anyway, I think you did the right thing Perce."

"You think so?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I mean think about it. We're just Juniors and she's already in college. Not only that, she'd also be halfway across the world." Jason told me.

"We could've tried long distance." I argued.

"Yeah, but those rarely work out." Piper countered.

"But sometimes they do." I retorted. Maybe there's still a chance. It's not like she's leaving today. Maybe I could just go by her house and... and.. Fix all of this. Maybe I can still fix this mess.

"That is true." Piper conceded "But most of the timed they don't. Look I'm not telling you that it wouldn't have worked out between you and Rachel. I'm telling you that from you story, it sounds like you've got some things to work out by yourself before starting a relationship."

I just stared at the ground, because she's right. Piper doesn't even know the whole story and somehow she figured it out. It kinda scares me how observant she really is. But how on earth am I gonna get over Annabeth? What am I even supposed to do? I mean, shouldn't I then try to move on with someone else? I couldn't voice out any of these thoughts though, because only Nico and Leo know the truth. I made a mental note to ask them all of this.

"Well... I think we could all use a distraction right about now. I'm thinking it's movie time." Leo said to end the serious mood everyone was in.

"Yeah, Percy what do you wanna watch?" Thalia asked me.

"I don't care. I just wanna go to sleep if that's okay with you guys." I mumbled tiredly, because honestly all I want to do right now is sleep and forget everything that happened.

Everyone shared a worried glance before Annabeth spoke for the first time since I started talking about my date. "You sure? Because I'd- I mean we would all really appreciate it if you stayed. It is friend night after all." She spoke in a soft voice, gesturing to place beside her on the couch.

"Yeah, Perce. Friend night just would not be the same without you. It'd be weird and just plain wrong without you!" Leo lamented.

"First and for all since when did this even become friend night? Secondly this is the first friend night we've had, ever." I said confusedly.

"Just stay Kelp Brains, you shouldn't be alone tonight." Thalia said in a soft tone that surprised me.

"Yeah, we'll watch anything you want. Anything at all." Hazel reassured me.

"Even Star Wars?" I asked, knowing Nico's reaction.

"What?! No way, I am not watching the first-" Nico started, but then Thalia elbowed him and received a glare from Annabeth. He just coughed and said "Yeah, of course."

"I don't know.." I said doubtfully.

"Please? For me?" Annabeth asked, and I couldn't deny her. After everything that happened, I knew one thing. I should focus on getting over Annabeth if I ever want to have a normal relationship with a girl It wouldn't be fair to her or me if I were to start a relationship, while still being in love with Annabeth. So that's my new goal, get over Annabeth.

But for now, I'm gonna enjoy watching my favorite movie series with the girl I love beside me.

"Alright." I relented and sat beside her. I felt my heart speed up, and for once I just enjoyed the feeling because starting tomorrow I'm not gonna let myself think of her like that any more. Tomorrow, will be the a fresh start. Tomorrow, I'll take my first step of moving on from Annabeth Chase.

-Time Skip: The Next Day-

I woke up feeling great, for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was a nice day -the sun was shining and the birds were chirping- or maybe it had something to do with fact that I woke up with Annabeth in my arms. Who knows? I started wondering how I got here, and then the events of yesterday came crashing back.

My first date, ruined. Rachel, walking away. Me, doing nothing like always. It all came back. Suddenly the day didn't seem that nice, in fact it seemed like it was mocking me. Here I am, practically dying inside, and yet the world did not give a single damn. It just kept on going, expecting me to do the same. I sighed, knowing my good mood has all but vanished and wouldn't return any time soon, and decided to get up and start making breakfast.

Anything to stop thinking.

* * *

 **Hey guys, how's it going? Here's another chapter, a bit on the short side if you ask me, which is why I'll be updating tomorrow to make up for it. This holiday has been more stressful for me than I though it would. I had to study and babysit, I'm not gonna bore you the the details. So what did you think of the chapter? Loved it? Hated it? Didn't really care? If so, be sure to tell me why and how I can improve your reading experience. I am doing all of this for all of you, so I really want you guys to enjoy reading this. OH, don't forget to vote on the poll in my profile, that would really help me out. As for what I thought of this chapter, it's meh. It didn'T really go as easily as some chapters have and I kinda feel like you can see that. I'm hoping that tomorrow's chapter will go a lot smoother, because I will be speeding things ups bit. There are some things that have to happen, but obviously I can't tell you guys just yet. Sorry. But if you guys really, and I mean REALLY didn't like this chapter (cause frankly I could understand why) then I will rewrite it tomorrow and add a new chapter. And.. That's all for now actually. **

**To Starbreaker195: Dude, I was just about to post this chapter when I saw your review and I kinda wished I saw it earlier. I mean, i and this whole chapter written out and then there you went with that awesome idea and it's either lose a lot of sleep and rewrite the chapter or post this one and regret it for the rest of my life. And if it weren't so late and I didn't have to hang out with my friends tomorrow, then I probably would have chosen the first option, the better option. However -without giving you any spoilers- I can tell you that there will be a lot of twists and turns in the future and that nothing will come easy. I really appreciate the suggestions and criticism. Thanks man :)**

 **To RANDOM DuDeTte: Thanks! I try :) And I'll think about your** **suggestions, thanks for those too by the way! :)**

 **To Guest: I'm so sorry :( It had to be done.**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: You and me both dude, you and me both. Well actually, probably a lot more people. I'm glad you enjoyed it though :)**

 **To ilikechocolate7100: Well... I'm glad? I'm not really sure if getting someone fucked is good. So... if that isn't a good thing, then I'm sorry.**

 **To UsernameKF: She did make an appearance a couple of chapters ago.**

 **BECKENDORK: Oh, okay! Nice friend you got there :), I'm not sure I would let my friends use my account. Well, to be fair the yon'd know I read fanfic so I guess this is all moot.** **I kinda had my doubts about that chapter, but** **I'm glad you liked it!**

 **To.. NONAME2002: Oh jeez, I was dreading this. I mean, hey! how's going? *starts sweating* I'm so sorry dude, but I couldn't just lie to all of you. If I had dragged it out any longer you'd just hate me even more. *I said, while slowly taking a step back* ... Didn't believe that? Well... Umm *become paler, begins sweating heavily* Did you know that emperor penguins bow to each other before intercourse? Okay, then. I'm just gonna.. yeah *Runs for my life***

 **To Kale97: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the chapter :) I also hope some guys took note of what I said, because honestly let's face it. Going to the movies on a first date is just terrible and should be stopped. And yeah, it really is helping. It'll apply to something I got planned in the future, so thanks for that! :) And I think I'll always, always love that pun.**

 **To Fratzy: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! And who knows.. Frankly even I don't know and I'm supposed to be the writer of this story XD**

 **To allstaar: ... Aaand now I feel bad. If it helps, Percy will have a better first date in the future. Thanks, I'm glad you like the story! And I'll keep doing what I do, I just hope it stays good.**

 **To VCRx: Hehe.. Yeah.. Sorry about that dude. But let's face it, if I let them go on a great first date then you'd hate me even more when she goes on that . You'd have been invested in their relationship, and then to have it ripped away from you when you thought all was well... I couldn't do that! That would've been too cruel! As for the placement: Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. I should've put it at the beginning, my bad bro.  
** **And shit, you're right! Can I hide with you in your bed?... Do you think it's too late tot travel back in time?**

 **Okay, that seems to be all.. So have a nice whatever-time-it-is-wherever-you-wonderful-people-are and take care.  
Joy**


	30. Chapter 30

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters (except maybe Derek and Mr. Nelson) I just own the plot. (Probably, these days, who eve knows anymore?)**

 **Annabeth's POV  
** I'm so excited! Today is the day Derek will finally be joining us at school! I've been looking forward to this all week, honestly that I arrived at school thirty minutes early. I've been confused all weekend, and of course it's all because of a certain Seaweed Brain.

Why does he have the power to make me so confused? Even Derek never did that to me. Percy's just so...UGH. I'll admit, sometimes I do get the urge to just hug him and hold him and tell him that everything will be all right (especially after that whole Rachel fiasco), but most of the times I could literally just kill him. I mean, he always downplays all of his good qualities.

He just acts so dumb sometimes! I sometimes wonder if he does it just to annoy me. The guy has got a lot going for him. He's courageous. He's got a sense of humor. He's good-looking, I guess. Sort of. In a I just want to grab and kiss... Where was I? Oh yeah, he's got a lot going for him, but he's so... obtuse. I mean he doesn't see really obvious stuff, like the way people feel, or when a girl is flirting with him. It's just so frustrating!

Before I could continue this train of thought, I got interrupted by the person I was thinking of.

"Hey Percy!" I greeted him giddily.

He gave me his famous lopsided grin, and cue heart doing weird fluttering thing. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to bed late last night. "Hey Annabeth! Why so cheerful?"

I gave him an incredulous stare. "Because today is Monday!" I answered.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, normally people aren't happy on Mondays." He said slowly.

I conked him in the head. "Well they are when their boyfriend starts going to their school that day."

He rubbed his head and still looked confused. "Yeah, I guess. But I still don't.." And then he gained a look of realization. "Oh."

"Yes. Oh. How could you forget? Derek's starting school with us today!" I exclaimed.

I swear for a second I saw him scowl at that, but when I blinked it was gone. Huh. Must've been the light playing tricks with my eyes. "Right. How could I forget.." I heard him mumble, I think.

"What?" I asked him, just to be sure.

He looked up and said "Nothing. Just.. Really really... Happy he's coming to school with us. I was just wondering though, why does he start school here when there's like three months left?"

"He said he wanted to be with me." I said defensively. "And his stepfather moved here like three weeks ago, because of his job. He got this amazing job opportunity."

"What does he do?"

"He's a neurosurgeon. He got this amazing opportunity here at the Hospital for Special Surgery." I explained.

"That's cool. Is he planning on following his father's footsteps?"

"I don't think so. We didn't really talk about that."

"So what do you guys talk about?"

"Well, in the beginning we caught up on everything we missed." I started, only now realizing my mistake.

"And now?"

I cleared my throat. "We umm... we don't really talk much." I mumbled, but he still heard me.

"Wait, but you guys spend like a LOT of time together." He said confusedly. "If you guys don't talk then what do you guys do?"

I just blushed and looked away.

And then something must've clicked, because a look of realization passed his face, followed by one of pain. Wait. What? I looked again, but all I saw was him making a disgusted face. "Ew.. Okay. I did NOT need to know that!."

I just blushed even more. "Well.. It's your fault. You asked."

He looked at me incredulously. "Well, how was I supposed to know you guys spend the majority of your time making out?! I think it would've been weird for us both if I did know that."

I shushed him. "Percy! Not so loud. Do you want the whole school to know?"

"Know what?" Leo asked.

"That Annabeth and Derek spend the- Ow!" Percy started but I kicked him in the shin and gave him a pointed glare. "You didn't let me finish. That Derek and Annabeth spend the uhh... spend the day making model airplanes. Yeah.. That's it."

Leo looked at me weirdly. "Really? Well, that's cool. I didn't think you liked airplanes." Leo said confusedly.

I just glared at Percy, who in return mouthed 'just go with it'. I sighed and said in a bored voice "It soothes me."

"Well.. Each couple their own thing I guess." Leo concluded.

"Hey babe!" Was all I heard before Derek picked me up and kissed me. I heard Percy and Leo make hurling noises in the background, honestly their so childish sometimes.

Derek put me down and turned towards Percy and gave him a rough handshake. "Hey Percy! Great to see you again! It feels like forever!" He greeted Percy.

Percy gave him a reluctant smile in return. "Yeah, hey Derek. I guess it has been a while.. I kinda really enjoyed our separation... It umm... it made me miss you even more! How are you?" He said, and honestly he sounded kinda constipated it was weird.

Derek just beamed at him and said "Great! I mean, I'm going to be in the same school as my girl, and I get to see you again! How could today just not be great? Plus I finally get to meet all of Annabeth's friends."

"Speaking of friends, hello Leo Valdez, bad boy supreme and one of Annabeth's dear friends." Leo introduced himself, taking Derek's hand and shaking it. "Damn bro, do you even lift?" He asked sarcastically looking at Derek's bulging biceps.

Derek just laughed good-naturedly and said "Every other day. " He then looked at Leo's arms and asked "Do you?"

Percy stepped and said "I'll have you know, that Leo doesn't have to. He's too busy fixing up cars at his father's auto shop. Do you know how to fix cars, Derek?"

Leo gave him a pointed look and said "Yeah, Derek? DO you know how to fix cars?" And again, just like Percy, Leo exaggerated the way he said Derek.

"Umm, no not really. My Porsche doesn't break down." Derek answered, looking extremely uncomfortable.

I hit both Percy and Leo on the back of their heads and said "Guys! Play nice! I'm so sorry Derek, I think they both woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something."

Leo said "Aw, come on Annabeth! Derek knows we were kidding."

"Yeah, cause we're already such good friends that we can tease each other like that." Percy added. "Right Derek?"

Derek beamed and said "We are? I mean, yeah! It's fine babe, don't worry."

"Well, okay then." I said reluctantly, still giving the guys a warning glare just in case.

While Derek and Leo started talking about his Porsche, I grabbed Percy to the side and whispered "Don 't forget your promise Seaweed Brain!"

Percy groaned and slapped his head. "Right. Annabeth, about that..."

"No! You are not backing down. You promised!" I reminded him.

"Annabeth, I know I did. But I don't think it's gonna work out. Besides why does he have to be MY friend? He's a strapping young lad, I'm sure he'll be able to make guy friends in no time!" He reasoned.

"Please? You're one of my best friends and I really would like to hang out with the both of you at the same time."

He just kept on groaning. "Fine. Fine! I'll TRY. I promised that I'll TRY. But if it doesn't work out, then it doesn'T work out." He concluded. "No exceptions." He said when he saw me open my mouth to argue.

I huffed. "Fine, I guess that'll do."

We went back to Leo and Derek and found them arguing.

"What are you talking about?! PC is obviously better than Mac!" Leo exclaimed.

"No way! Mac is so much easier to use and user friendly!" Derek countered. "Not everyone is a computer whiz you know!"

"Are you stupid, or stupid?! Never mind, you just answered that question! Mac is overpriced for what you get. At least PC is worth its price!" Leo ranted.

"That's not true! Mac-" Derek started, when I cleared my throat. They both looked at us when I did that. Honestly, how do these arguments even start?

"Babe, what do you have first period?" I asked him in a sickly sweet voice.

Derek gulped, knowing not to push me, but apparently Leo doesn't. "Annabeth, honey-bear, not know. Your boyfriend is right there." He faked whispered.

Percy laughed, I did not. Leo also laughed and high-fived him, until he saw my face.

"You have ten seconds Valdez." I said in a warning tone.

He gulped and ran away screaming "I'm sorry Honey-Bear!" I'm gonna get him for that.

"English." Derek answered.

I beamed. "That's great! So does Percy! You guys should go together."

Percy was still laughing until he heard that. "I'm sorry. Go with the what now?"

"Derek also has English first period. "I told him.

Percy's eyes widened and asked "Is it too late to run away with Leo?"

I was not amused.

 **Thalia's POV  
** "Thalia, wait up!" Nico shouted behind me. I just ignored him and kept on walking inside the school. I purposely went to school 15 minutes early, just to avoid Nico Di Angelo, but of course with my luck it isn't so.

"Thalia! I said wait." Nico said a lot closer, until he grabbed my arm and turned me towards him.

"Yes?" I said impatiently, crossing my arms and tapping my foot for good measure.

"Are you STILL mad at me?" Nico asked incredulously.

I looked at my nails an said in a bored voice. "Nah, we're fine."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Thals, come on. Just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it!"

"I said we're fine." I repeated slowly.

"Obviously, we're NOT fine. Just tel my why you're pissed! You've been ignoring me all day yesterday."

"I was busy."

"Too busy to answer my calls? Or my texts?!"

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p'. "Can I go now?"

He just sighed and rubbed his face. I started walking away towards English class, when he suddenly said "No." And then he grabbed me and dragged me outside. "You'Re not leaving until we fix this. I don't care if we have to stand here all day."

I sighed and tried going back in. "Can I come trough? I've got an English class to go to."

He just blocked my path. "Oh, really? You really wanna go to English class? Well tough noogies, 'cause I ain't letting you trough until we talk this trough."

I glared at him. "Nico. Let. Me. Go."

Normally he would cave and say 'Fine' and that'd be it. But this time he stood his ground and shook his head. "No."

I looked at him incredulously. "Did you just say no?"

"You becoming deaf or what? I said no. Not until we fix this, because I can't have my girl pissed at me. Just tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it."

I sighed irritably. "Fine! I guess I'm mad because it doesn't seem like you want to spend time with me! We've been together for like a whole week, and yet we haven't gone on one date."

Nico had the nerve to laugh. If looks could kill, I swear he'd be long gone by now.

"Thats's it?!" He said incredulously. "I thought it was something serious like you don't love me anymore or something. We can totally fix that, easily in fact."

He grabbed my hand and dragged me towards his black truck. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked him.

He just looked back with an amused look and I swear I saw his eyes twinkly. "Isn't it obvious? I'm taking my girl out on a date. And NOT to the movies."

"What? But.. but what about school?" I protested weakly, even though I entered his car.

He just looked at me and said "Since when did school ever stop us from having fun? I find it hard to believe that you've never ditched school. I've been planning this date all day yesterday, although I did have some help from a couple of people."

I smirked, put my feet on the dashboard and said "All right Death Breath. You got my interest peaked. Wait. Who helped you?"

"The guys." He answered sheepishly.

"You mean the guys that thought the movies was a great place for a first date?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well to be fair, Percy was there this time. He came up with the most of it actually. Granted I didn't plan on taking you today, but sometimes the things you didn't plan on end up being the greatest things ever. But if you want we can still go to school and just do this another day, I guess."

By the end of it he started sounding unsure, so I grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him. When I pulled back, I turned on the radio -drowning out the sound of the school bell in the background- and said "Drive Death Breath, before I change my mind."

He broke away from his daze, gave me his famous grin and said "With pleasure, Pinecone Face."

And then we were off, on our first official date.

 **Percy's POV  
** I wonder where Thalia could be. Class started ten minutes ago, and so far there was no sign of the raven haired girl. Which seriously sucked, I was kinda hoping to sick her on Derek or at least use her to not have to talk to him. I really really really hope she's just running late, but somehow I felt like that was all in vain. Call it intuition.

"Psst, Perce. What do you have next period?" Derek asked me in a quiet tone.

Tricky question. What if he has the same subject as me? It was for that exact reason I was reluctant to answer. Eh, what are the odds of us having two classes together? "Math." I whispered back.

"Cool, me too! We should go together." He whispered back excitedly. Ah, shit. Really? Really universe? He couldn't have had, oh I don't know any other subject but math?!

"Yeah... Sounds fun." I whispered back a lot less excitedly.

"Mr. Jackson! Bothering the new kid are we?" Mr. Nelson, the English teacher, asked. Of course... Just my luck.

"No sir." I answered back politely. "I was just answering his question."

"Oh really? So you must know this subject better than me then, if you can answer questions willy nilly." Gods, he's okay most of the time, but on days like this -when he's in a bad mood- you really do not wanna provoke him. So of course, I unknowingly provoked him. Just my luck.

"No sir." I answered back, a lot less politely. What can I say? He's starting to piss me off, and I guess Nico's starting to rub off on me.

"No, no, no. Please, do come up here Mr. Jackson. If you think you can teach this class better than me, then please come up here." He said in a deceptively sweet voice. "You can show me how it's done, while I sit here distracting other students. See how you like it!" He shouted.

"I'm good." I answered.

"Jackson, here now!" He shouted, pointing to the front of the class. By this point, everyone was looking at the exchange between Mr. Nelson and me, but no one tried defending me. Why would they? I am kinda pissed at Derek though. Technically this was his fault, yet I was the one who had to pay for it?! Great. Just great. And of course Annabeth wasn't here to witness that. Just my luck.

I sighed, grabbed my notes and walked towards the front of the class. He gave me the chalk he was holding and then went and sat down in my place and said "Proceed. Show me how it's done."

I gulped, how the hell am I supposed to start? Does he want me to just start teaching, or should I introduce myself? Fuck it, I'll just wing it. "Uhh, hey class? I guess I'm your new teacher now, Mr. Jackson." And then I wrote my name on the blackboard. I mean, what else was I supposed to do?

"So, today we'll be discussing Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird. We won't only focus on the content, but now also the historical context, period, setting and point of view." I started. Boy, was I glad I already read this book last year. I kept on teaching the class, because Mr. Nelson seemed too shocked to do anything about it. At first everyone wasn't sure what to do, but when they that Mr. Nelson wasn't doing anything about it, they started taking notes. And I gotta admit, this is kinda fun. A lot better than sitting beside Derek, and acting like I like him.

"Percy, sit down." Mr Nelson said after thirty minutes.

Unfortunately, I was in full teacher mode, so instead of saying 'Yes, sir.' and sitting down like I normally would've, I said in a snooty-teacher voice "That's Mr. Jackson to you, Bobby."

Mr. Nelson became red, while everyone else was doing their best to hold their laughter in. He stood up and shouted "My name is not Bobby!"

"It is in my class Bobby, now sit down before I send you to the principal's office." I said in my best patient-teacher-voice.

And everyone lost it at that. They all started laughing, so Mr. Nelson -ahem- I mean Bobby, became red for a whole different reason and gained a dumbstruck look and sat down, because no one seemed to have any complaints on my teaching method and technically I was following the curriculum.

"As I was saying.." I started once more, until the bell rang. "Okay, that's it for now. For next lesson, I want you to read chapter 10. We'll be discussing it in detail." I said, writing it down on the blackboard. At the end of the class, I went to grab my stuff and gave Mr. Nelson back his chalk.

"I really hope you pay better attention next time Bobby.. I care about you son, and I don't want your grades to slip." I told him earnestly. After that, I grabbed my backpack and left the classroom, and a stunned Mr. Nelson behind.

Huh, maybe I'll get lucky and get to teach math too.

* * *

 **And here we go, another day another chapter. I'm kind of happy, I kinda like how this chapter turned out. It serves as a starting point for all of the upcoming drama, and trust me there will be lots of it. And I'm kind of really happy that there will be a sort of 'mini-story' with Thalia and Nico, you know. That way it isn't just about Percy and his life, but also other people's problems and drama. I mean, of course Percy will still be the main character, but I'm glad that this** **story is getting more depth and a thicker plot line. I don't know, maybe that's just me. What do you guys think of this chapter? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! I'm thinking next chapter will come out on Friday (there is a slim, but very very slim, chance that it can come out tomorrow but I wouldn't count on it cause it's gonna be pretty buys for me). Oh, and don't forget to vote on the poll in my profile "Who should Percy end up with?" so that I know what the endgame will be here. Now to the reviews:**

 **To Guest: Thanks! That's a load off my mind. And I'm sorry you get those updates late (Fun fact: I've actually been to the UK! London, was amazing, there were SO many bookstores!). Where I live, I tend to write really late. I don't know why, I guess I feel really inspired at night. I'm kinda shocked at the amount of reviews I'm getting, to be honest. As for taking a girl to the movies: Only when you guys can be in comfortably silence together, dude. I don't know how mane dates that will take (Fun fact: I do not have experience in that field, in the slightest.), so I guess I would not be the best person to ask dating advice, haha- I hope you enjoyed this chapter, cause I really liked writing it. And thanks, I'm glad you like the way I wrote Rachel. I based her (for now) parting on the books, because for me that was just perfect. I wanted to stay true to the books, in my own way. However due to a problem, I couldn't really see the end of your review, so I'm not really sure what you hoped for (Sorry!). So when I get to fully read t, I'll come back and edit it, sorry for the inconvenience.**

 **To Starbreaker195: Haha, yeah that's what I thought. And yeah, I could do that now that I think of it. Notice how I skipped Sunday. I'm planning on working with flashbacks, 'cause I really like reading them in other pics. And I'm really happy you thinkI'm a good author, I try! I'm still surprised this story got so many reviews! Like, what the frick?! I started this story, cause I though there were too many stories out there with too little twists and turn so I thought 'Eh, what the hell.. It's not like people will really read it anyway.' Which is why I am shocked at the amount of people interested in this story.  
And yeah, sure! I'll review your story, but I'm gonna have to read it first though. I'll let you know once I'm done. Sound good?**

 **To Duckayh: Thanks for the suggestion! I'll take it into account for the future chapters ;)**

 **To RandomReviewer: Whew! That's a load off my toad. I'm really glad you liked the last chapter. As for your question: Maybe ;) Who knows? I will take it into consideration, that's for sure!  
**

 **To UsernameKF: I'm not making any promises to anyone. Whatever happens, happens.**

 **To Kale97: Thank you for your honesty, I had a busy day and honestly didn't even feel like writing. I try to keep my promises though, enough of them get broken by people anyway. This chapter serves as a starting point for all of the upcoming drama- And actually, no I do not have any ideas for Percy's first date. Well, maybe a couple. I'll run 'em by you in Pm, sound good?**

 **To BECKENDORK: Nice friend. What did have to do to get access to her account though, is my question. And thanks, I'm planning on changing my name so he won't find me. ( Don't tell him!) And if he does find me, I really like lilies (hint, hint!) or black roses. Yeah, that would be fitting.**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: Thank you!**

 **To BlackThorn47: Okay, boom: Done! Annabeth's POV, although there will be more of it (obviously) in the future chapters. Probably the next one, in hey dude, I'm not judging. Here I am, looking all rebel and shit, yet I'm writing about fictional characters and their emotions.. The kicker though? I actually suck at emotions, so yeah.. I don't even know how this works. I just learned to go with flow.**

 **To *oh shit* NONAME2002: Nah, fuck you! I ain't opening this door! EVER! *Laughs evilly, because reasons.***

 **To Fratzy: You never know, dude, you never know. The future is unpredictable. (Wow, that sounded deeper in my head.)**

 **To VCRx: Damn it dude, why you gotta make it weird? I was merely asking if I could hide out in your bed, because no way is NONAME gonna expect me to hide in another Perchal shippers place. You're the one making it awkward. And I cannot fricken believe I did not recognise your name! So, I went to your profile (not in a stalkers way, don't make this weird!) cause I didn't want people to think I was some pedophile hitting on a ten-year old or something (cause of your comment) and I realised something: You'Re the beta for Shattered! Man oh man, when I realised that I literally said 'OH SHIT!' out loud, because umm hello? The beta of Shattered reads MY story! Holy crap on a cracker, that's awesome! I love your work by the way! I'd love to keep on fangirling, however I have to run. I have a flying phone box to find. Do me a favour and keep NONAME busy, will you? Okay, thanks! Bye! *runs away***

 **To PoppyOhare: Boom, done!**

 **Okay, that's it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so take care and have a good anything! Ciao, for now!  
Joy (for now)**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

 **Percy POV  
** Yeah, no. I was not lucky. I didn't get to teach math, in fact I got detention. All because of Derek. I don't know if he's intentionally trying to ruin my life or anything, but he's kinda succeeding. You see what happened was...

 _IN MATH CLASS_

" _Psst Perce, you gonna teach this class too?" Derek whispered._

 _A couple of people overheard this and started giggling and whispering their support._

" _Yeah, you should teach Percy!" A random guy whispers at me._

" _You rule at teaching!" Someone added._

" _You're awesome!" Another one whispers._

" _You're cute! Are you single?" This time it's a girl that whispers that to me and I had to do a double take._

" _Er... Umm.." I started, but of course Ms. Alecto heard me. She always seems to hear me._

" _Mr. Jackson why are you talking in my class when you should be taking notes?" She asked sternly._

" _I was! I mean, I am!" I answered back, adding a 'miss' at the end for good measure._

 _She just lifted an eyebrow and said "Evidently not. You've been disturbing my class."_

" _That's not true!" I defended myself._

" _Oh really? So you are telling me that you weren't about to whisper something at someone?" She asked with a smug grin. Ah shit._

 _I gulped "Well, yeah. But it's not my fault. I was merely about to answer someone's question."_

" _Ergo, disrupting this class. Detention." She announced smugly._

" _That's not fair! I didn't do anything wrong!" I exclaimed._

" _My word, is final Mr. Jackson. Now I suggest you shut your mouth, unless you want a whole week of detention." She said with a predatory smile at the end. When I didn't answer, she just nodded her head and went back to the lesson._

As if that wasn't bad enough, I'm one hundred percent sure Thalia skipped school today. She wasn't in any of my classes and no one else has seen her since this morning. Which meant, for the better part of the morning, I was stuck talking to Derek. I don't know what it is, I hate him. It's not really something I can explain, I just get a bad vibe off of him. But... He's Annabeth's boyfriend and as her friend it is my duty to TRY to get along with him.

"So, how's your morning going so far hermano?" Leo asked me. I was waiting for him at my locker, partly to meet up and have lunch with him, mostly to avoid having to walk to the cafeteria with Derek.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Could be better. A lot better. Did you know Thalia didn't come in at all today?

His eyes widened. "Seriously? Nico vanished too! No one's seen him since this morning."

"That's odd. No one's seen Thalia this morning either." I remarked. "Say... You don't they.."

Before I could finish that though, I was interrupted by Allison McKinley, this girl in my English class. She walked beside me and said "Hey Percy, or should I say Mr. Jackson? My name's Allison I'm in your English class."

I just blushed, because Allison is kinda sorta really cute. She's got dark hair that stopped at her shoulder and pale skin like Nico. But Allison had a more beautiful face (thank gods), she had high cheekbones and eyes that matched her hair. "Haha, nah you can just call me Percy. Seriously, Mr. Jackson makes me feel old."

She gave me a dimpled smile in return and said "Well, I just wanted to say that you did a great job teaching the class! I actually wanted to pay attention for once, and not only because you're cute, but also because I understood everything!"

I scratched behind my neck and looked at the floor to hide my beet red cheeks. Man, I hate being complimented. I never know what to do or what to say. Being complimented by a cute girl? Forget it. All brain functions just stop working. I mean, she called me cute! How the hell am I supposed to think after that? Or speak?

"Er... Umm... Yeah, well.. I try." I stammered out. Gods, why did she have to be cute? Or even a girl?

Thankfully, Leo -who was uncharacteristically quiet in the background- saved my ass. He put his arm around me and said "Percy's being modest here. Thanks to his tutoring, I'm not failing English! I'm Leo, by the way, Leo Valdez."

"Hey, nice to meet you! I'm Allison, I'm in Percy's English class. I mean, Mr. Jackson's English class" She greeted him nicely with a wink aimed at me at the end. Oh gods, Leo will never let me live that down. "Oh, looks like we're here, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you Leo. I hope to see you around more Percy." And then she entered the cafeteria.

Leo turned to me, with a smile from ear-to-ear. "Wanna tell me something, Mr. Jackson?"

I blushed and shoved past him. "Shut up." I muttered.

He just laughed and shouted "You know I'l find out what happened, right?"

I chose to ignore him.

 **Nico's POV**

"I don't like that smile. What do you have planned?" Thalia asked me warily.

I just kept on smiling.

"Well? You gonna answer me?"

"Nope."

"You just did."

"Nope."

"Umm... Yes you did!"

"Nope."

"Yes!"

"Nope."

"Yes!"

"YES! And if you say 'Nope' one more time, I will kill you."

I looked at her, smirked and said "Nope."

"Godsdammit Nico! That's it. You leave me no choice.." She said, ending it with her signature evil-smirk. Oh shit!

I paled at that, because the last time I saw that smirk, I ended up at a gay strip bar. "Wh..What are you gonna do?"

She just kept on smirking and asked innocently "How about we put some other tunes?"

I looked at her warily but answered "Okay, I guess. What do you want to listen to?"

"I'll surprise you." She said.

Oh gods... She just put on.. The Spice Girls! Guess which song? Yeah, that's right: Wannabe. Godsdammit.

"Thalia, out that crap off! You know that'll be stuck in my head the whole day!" I whined.

She just smirked and said "Tell me what we'Re going to do!"

"No!"

She just shrugged her shoulders and said "Oh well." And then she made it even louder! I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Fine!" I shouted. "I'll tell you! But only if you stop that godsforsaken song!"

She gave ma triumphant grin and said "All you had to do was ask."

And then there was silence. Wonderfull, blissful silence.

"So.. What are we gonna do?" She asked.

"Well, I would tell you.. But we're already there." I announced.

She just looked confused. "We're having our first date... in a parking lot?"

"Nope. It's gonna be above the parking lot." I told her in a 'duh' voice.

She glared at me but got out.

-Line Break-

"I don't get it. We'Re having our date in Times Square?" She asked.

"Well, I figured here we are, in one of the greatest city on 've lived our whole lives here, but we've never really visited any of the tourist attractions. So I thought, why not be complete tourists for one day? We could visit all of the sights there are to see in New York, take cliché touristy pictures and fall in love with the city that is New York. Together." I told her earnestly.

When she stayed silent, I started panicking. What if this was a horrible idea? What if this was even worse than taking her to the movies?! Oh gods, she's gonna break up with me and then kill me. Oh gods, oh gods, I didn't even tell Percy what to do after my death! I got some documents I want gone when I'm gone.

Before I could open my mouth and start babbling like an idiot, Thalia grabbed me by my shirt and kissed me passionately. And all my nerves and worries just melted away. When she pulled away she had this look of utter adoration and said in a soft voice "I love it." And when she smiled at me like that, it finally felt like I was doing something right for once.

-Line Break-

"Oh my gods. Best date ever!" Thalia announced.

We were currently strolling in the M&M store, and I just told her she could get anything she wanted. Thank you Percy, you were right. Girls do love chocolate, I guess it is a scientific fact.

I just shrugged my shoulders and said "Ehh, I try."

While we were strolling trough the different types of M&M's, the store was pretty much deserted, so it felt like it was just Thalia and me. Nothing else mattered. We talked about everything and nothing. I got to know Thalia and fall in love with her all over again. These past few days as a secret couple didn't leave much time for talking, seeing as how we were focused on doing as much as possible without getting caught. But right here, right now, we had all the time in the world. I will never be able to look at M&M's again, without being reminded how much I love Thalia.

 **Annabeth's POV**

I was talking with Piper and Hazel at our table, when Derek greeted me wit a kiss.

"Hey babe." He said.

I smiled at him. Then I noticed something. "Hey Derek, where's Percy?"

"Oh, he said he was meeting up with Leo and told me to go ahead." He answered, taking a bite out of his apple.

"Wait, so he just left you alone to find the cafeteria?" I asked him.

He shrugged and said "Yeah, I'm a big boy you know. I can find stuff on my own."

"Yeah, but that's not right! He should've come with you!" I said with a frown.

He just smiled. "Annabeth, babe, it's okay. I don't mind. It wasn't that hard to find, honestly. All I had to do was follow everyone else. I actually met a couple of nice guys. And there they are! Yo, Jason, Frank, Grover! Over here!"

They both looked confused. "Hey.. Derek? Right? What are you doing at out table?' Frank asked him, setting his tray down.

"I'm Annabeth's boyfriend." He explained.

Then Jason got this look of realization on his face. "Oh. Oh! You're that Derek! Okay, everything makes a lot more sense now. A lot more sense." He said, sharing a look with Frank.

Before I could ask him what he meant with that, the cafeteria doors were slammed open by Percy, followed by Leo shouting "You know I'll find out what happened, right?"

Percy seemed to ignore him and just took his place at our table.

"What was Leo talking about?" Piper asked him. I wanted to scold him for leaving Derek alone, but I was intrigued by his behavior.

Percy blushed and muttered "Nothing. Leo's just plain crazy." And then he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Hey Derek, you're in Percy's English class right?" Leo asked Derek.

"Yup."

"So what happened this morning?" Leo inquired.

"Don't tell him!" Percy shouted.

"Why do you wanna know?" Derek asked with interest.

Leo smirked at Percy. "Because a certain Allison McKinley approached Mr. Jackson here."

I shot up. "Wait. Allison, with the dimples, Allison?" I asked.

"Yep. I'm thinking she's got a schoolgirl crush on my boy Perce over here, but I wanna know why. Except for the obvious reasons of course." Leo answered.

"Way to go Percy!" Jason whooped.

"Allison is a real catch, well done." Piper complimented Percy.

He just blushed and said "It's nothing okay? She was just complimenting me on my teaching skills."

"Why would she compliment your teaching skills?" I asked, with a little edge to my voice.

He just scratched his neck and started mumbling incoherent words.

"I didn't quite get that." I said, giving him a glare.

"It's because Perce here, is a great teacher!" Derek testified. "He taught Mr. Nelson's English class this morning and did an awesome job! It was all thanks to me, of course"

"You did not! It was your fault I even had to teach!" Percy exploded.

Derek shrugged his shoulders and said "Well, it worked out didn't it? You ended up being a great teacher! And thanks to me, Allison noticed you! Honestly Perce, you should be thanking me."

"Thanking you? Thanking you?! For what? Getting me in trouble? Getting Mr. Nelson to hate me?! What if I wasn't a good teacher? Huh? Were you just gonna let me make a complete and utter fool of myself?" Percy fumed.

"Why does it matter? It's all in the past now, and it all worked out great!" Derek reasoned.

"Okay, what the hell happened?" I asked them, looking at Percy who was being held back by Leo and Jason.

He pointed an accusing finger at Derek and shouted "That.. That guy over there got me into trouble with Mr. Nelson! Because of him, I had to go up to the front of the class and teach! And he has the audacity to actually take the credit and ask me to thank him! "

I, with everyone else at the table, frowned at Derek "Is this true?"

He held his hands up "Hey now. It wasn't my fault! Perce here didn't have to answer me. He certainly didn't help his case by being impolite to Mr. Nelson."

"Derek, apologize to Percy." I told him sternly.

His eyes widened at that. "What? Why? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Apologize, right now!" I said with a glare.

"Why?"

"I know you! I was in class with you. I know you talk to people in class, and I know you bother them and get them into trouble so apologize!"

He huffed and turned to Percy "Fine. I'm sorry that I got you into trouble. To make it up to you, I would like to invite you to join me and Annabeth at the movies. All of you actually."

Everyone looked reluctant to join.

"Thank you for the apology, I guess. " Percy muttered. "But I kinda sorta have detention because of you." He said with a glare.

Derek put his hands up again. "Well, that wasn't my fault. It was everyone else's for whispering at you."

"They wouldn't have whispered at me, if YOU didn't start!" He shouted.

"Hey Percy, how about we go out and get some fresh air?" Leo proposed, casting a wary glance at Derek.

"Yeah, yeah. That's a good idea." Percy breathed out, still glaring at Derek and clenching his jaw.

"We'll join you!" Grover added. And then all of the guys left.

"Oh I just remembered, I uhh have to pee!" Hazel said.

"Oh yeah.. me too! It's that time of the month again, hahaha." And with that Piper left with Hazel, leaving me alone with Derek.

 **Nico's POV**

So far, so good. After the M&M shop we went to the Empire State building, because umm hello? You try imagining the New York city skyline without it. Impossible, right? Which makes it the perfect tourist attraction.

"You, I've lived my whole life here in New York, yet I've never actually been inside the Empire State building." Thalia noted.

"Right? It's like right there, but I never really noticed it before." I told her.

Once we reached the top, we were both silent and awestruck by the view. I can't believe I've never been here before! Unlike the M&M store, we didn't talk all that much. We didn't have to. We both just stood atop the Empire State building and enjoyed the view together in comfortable silence. Standing there, seeing that look of utter awe on Thalia's face, I knew I was doing something right.

-Line Break-

"Next stop: Bronx Museum of Art, because we gotta keep things classy." I announced.

She wrinkled her nose. "Ew. Art? Really? That's not really my thing Death Breath. A museum feels too much like school."

"I know, I know... But I was thinking, maybe we'll be lucky and someone will be having their wedding there. And you know what wedding means..."

"Free food!" She finished, giving me an evil smirk. "Not bad Death Breath, not bad."

"But first, we'Re gonna have to dress up." I told her, looking at our clothes.

"How we gonna pay for that?" Thalia asked me.

I held up a black Visa and smirked. "Don't worry. My dad's got it covered." And then we entered this fancy looking boutique.

I got a black tux with a red tie that fit me like a glove. It took a little longer for Thalia, because she's a girl and she's got a lot more choices to make, so I had to wait for a while.

When I saw her leave the dressing room all I can say was: It was worth the wait. She wore a red gown made of soft, satiny fabric, long and loose. A semicircular, high collar made of silk-like materials headed the ankle-length robe. And when she smiled at me, I swear, my brain just turned into a puddle of goo because this wonderful, amazing and gorgeous girl is going to crash a wedding, with ME. I can't believe it.

"So, how do I look?" She asked me, biting her lip.

"Er... Um...Yeah.. Totally...Good! You! Uh.." I stammered out like a complete idiot. It was worth hearing her tinkling laugh though.

I just sighed and smiled. "You look good. Really really good. Amazing in fact. I'm talking 'making a guy stupid' good. I could literally name all of the positive adjectives in the English language and they'd still do you no justice! In fact-" Oh gods, I was babbling like an idiot now.

She interrupted my by grabbing my tie and kissing me. "You look pretty good yourself." She murmured.

I smiled and blurted out "You dig me."

She laughed. I blushed. "I dig you?"

Meh, might as well go with it. I gave her a roguish smile and said "Yep. You, Thalia Grace, dig me."

"Dig you a hole maybe." She told me.

"Damn, that was a good one." I complimented her.

"You pretty much walked into that one."

I laughed "I'd walk into any hole for you." I told her. "Wow... That sounded a lot more romantic in my head."

She just shook her head and said "Come on Ghost King, we've got a wedding to crash."

"Coming Pinecone Face."

-Line Break-

We were lucky. There was a wedding at the museum after all! Now, here it gets tricky. We gotta get past the ushers, into the wedding without arousing suspicion.

"Let me do all the talking." I whispered.

"Okay." Thalia whispered back, unsure.

"Bride or groom?" The usher asked me.

"Groom." I answered back confidently.

And we were in. "That.. wasn't as hard as I thought." Thalia admitted.

I laughed "Oh, no, no, no, no ,no. That wasn't the hard part. The hard part, is convincing these people that we are supposed to be here. I'm talking crazy stories about 'your Uncle Jack doing the Finnish fold dance at a your high school play' and 'your Aunt Gertrude from Glasgow'. We've got to convince these people we're their long-lost cousins or something. You up for it?"

"You know it! What's our cover story?" Thalia asked.

"Hmm... I'm thinking, I'll be the groom's second cousin Rogelio, from England on his fathers side." I said with a British accent.

"Oh! And I could be the bride's long-lost niece Richelle, on her aunts daughter's side." She answered back enthusiastically.

"I'm thinking we'll have to act like we don't know each other and accidentally 'bump' into one another." I proposed.

"Good idea. I'll go mingle with the people on the left side and try to gather intel on the bride." She added.

"And I'll do the same for the groom on the right side. Ready? Break!" And then we separated."

I walked up to some guy and said "Bob?! Is that you? Oh my goodness! It's been a century and a half since I last saw you!"

He turned around and asked "Do I know you?"

I just laughed it off and said "What are you talking about? It's me! Rogelio? We met at Kelly's party in college, senior year? That ring any bells?" I started sweating, because I lucked out when it came to guessing his name (he really looked like a Bob to me), but I wasn't sure if he went to college, let alone knew a Kelly.

He laughed and said "Oh... Yeah.. Right! I remember. You were the British exchange student. Right?"

I smiled and said "Exactly!"

He looked relieved and said "So... I can't believe Dennis is getting married!"

"I know! Right? How long have these two crazy kooks been in love now? One? Two years?"

Bob sorted and said "Try five! You know Dennis, he was so sure that Uma was the one he wouldn't even look at another girl!"

"Right! It is kinda nice though, that they made it. Here. On their wedding day. Really makes you think, doesn't it?"

"It really does. I was thinking of quitting my job at the law firm and traveling the world."

"But?"

"I'm kinda worried what Dennis might think of it. We've been together since high school, and I'm kinda scared of being alone."

I put my am around him and said "Bob, sometimes you gotta take the leap. Talk to Dennis, he's your friend. He'll support you decision no matter what, cause that's what friends do.

He nodded thoughtfully at that. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right Rogelio. Thanks man!"

"No problem, it's what I do." And then I walked away, towards another person.

After an hour, everyone on the left room pretty much knew Rogelio and loved him. Why wouldn't they? I think I'm doing a pretty good job here. I was at the buffet stuffing my face, when I saw her. The most beautiful woman in the room. Our eyes met across the room, just like you'd see in a romantic movie and I knew I just had to meet her.

I walked up to her, gave her my most charming smile and said "Hey, I think you're drop dead gorgeous."

She smiled coyly and then looked at me up and down "You're not so bad yourself."

"I'm Rogelio, but you can call me anytime."

She laughed and said "Pleasure to me you. I'm Richelle."

I grabbed her hand, placed a kiss on it and said "Trust me, the pleasure is all mine. Dance with me?"

She blushed and nodded.

"So, how are you doing so far?" I asked her.

She beamed at me "This is so fun. We should crash weddings more often!"

"Right!? I'm thinking of kicking things up a notch."

"How?"

I just gave her a secretive smile "You'll see Richelle, you'll see. For now, dance with me."

Afterwards we 'got to know each other' and had people come up to us saying stuff like 'You guys would make a great couple!' and 'You better invite me to the wedding!'. It was great.

I walked up to the podium and cleared my throat. "Excuse me." I began. Once I had everyone's attention, I continued. "Hey, I'm Rogelio. Some of you may know me. I am really really happy for Dennis and Uma. I mean, five years. Five years. That is just amazing. What you have, that's what I want. I do. I want the looks across a crowded room, the inside jokes, the knowledge that at the end of the day, I'll be coming home to a loving wife with a cup of thee. I want that. And I think I might have found the girl I want that with. Everyone, you see that girl over there with the red dress? Richelle? That's the girl I fell hopelessly in love with, since I was fourteen! And that's the girl I'm gonna marry some day. You mark my words."

And then I dropped the mic, ran towards her, picked her up and kissed her like there wouldn't be a tomorrow. Everyone applauded (Richelle and Rogelio were pretty popular in this wedding) but I didn't hear any of it.

"Come back to my place?" I whispered.

She smirked "Like you even have to ask."

 **Percy's POV**

"Okay, breath, Percy, breath. In and out, in and out." Leo instructed.

"I'm gonna kill him." I declared.

"No, you're not." Leo told me.

"And why not?"

"Because Annabeth will never forgive you for that." Leo reminded me.

I just groaned out of frustration. "It's not fair, goddammit, it's not fair."

"I know bro, I know.. But remember our plan." Leo reminded me.

Right. The plan. Last Sunday I made a plan with Nico and Leo on how to get over Annabeth, and it looks like it'll have to be set into motion.

FLASHBACK: SUNDAY  
" _You have to spend less time with her." Nico announced._

 _My eyes widened at that. "What?"_

" _It's the only way. You'll never get over Annabeth if you keep spending tim with her." Nico told me._

" _Yeah, I hate to say it bro, but you're just gonna fall harder and deeper for that chica if you don't take a step back." Leo added._

" _But... But.. She'll know something's wrong! She'll know!" I told them._

" _Well, that's why you gotta do it gradually. Take it step by step." Nico instructed._

" _Yeah, like if you spend every day together, make it every other day. Make up excuses." Leo added._

" _Yeah, like join clubs." Nico proposed._

" _The less time you spend with her..." Leo started._

" _...the better." Nico finished._

 _I sighed, because it's true, I know it. But that doesn't mean I like it. My mind knows it's the right thing t do, it's my stupid heart whose causing problems._

" _I can't. There's still like three months left! No club will accept me!" I argued._

" _Hmmm... That is a problem." Leo said, pulling his imaginary beard._

" _Oh! I got it! Spend more time with Thalia or Piper, like help them with their homework." Nico proposed._

" _Yeah! That could work." Leo agreed._

" _But.. won't they get suspicious or something?" I wondered._

" _Well, you could always ask them advice..." Nico proposed._

 _My eyes widened. "What? You mean tell them about how I feel?" I asked him incredulously._

 _Nico shrugged. "Yeah why not?"_

 _I sputter "Because.. Because they might tell Annabeth!"_

" _Nah, I don't think they do that bro. They're cool. They know how to keep a secret. Plus the more people that know, the more help." Leo argued._

" _Wait a second.. The more.. You want to tell the guys!" I accused._

" _You got me. I think it would help. They're getting suspicious you know, like we're keeping secrets from them." Leo said._

" _Well, we are keeping secrets from them." Nico remarked._

 _I sighed, because they're right. I could really use all the help I could get. "Fine, call them over. We'll get this over with."_

 _-Line Break-_

" _I knew it! I knew you liked Annabeth!" Jason exclaimed after we told them._

" _No you didn't!" Frank argued. "you thought he was in love with Rachel!"_

" _Well, I had a feeling he liked Annabeth." Jason told him haughtily._

 _Frank frowned. "Did not."_

" _Did too."_

" _Nuh-uh."_

" _Yah-huh."_

" _Nuh-uh!"_

" _Yah-huh!"_

" _Guys!" Interrupted their very pointless fight. "Can we please, for once, focus on the matter at hand?! I'm in love with Annabeth, Annabeth has a boyfriend. What do I do to get over her."_

" _You sure it's love?" Jason asked._

" _Yeah, pretty sure." I answered._

" _Well, shit. Then you're I trouble buddy, cause I got nothing for love." Jason answered._

" _Sorry Percy, neither do I. I never had to get over someone I'm in love with." Frank said apologetically._

 _I gave him a small smile. "Hopefully, you'll never have to."_

 _We all turned to Grover. "Don't look at me. I got nothing." He said with an apologetic shrug._

 _I just rubbed my face. "Right. Okay. So you mean to tell me that 'Stay away from Annabeth' is the best six guys could come up with?!"_

 _Nico shrugged. "It's a pretty solid plan if you ask me."_

 _I just sighed and rubbed my face. "We're idiots."_

" _Idiots, that are gonna stop thinking about girls and play video games." Leo announced._

 _Everyone agreed and so started the Mortal Kombat battle between us guys. Yeah, stay away from Annabeth. Seems like a solid plan... I should've asked the girls for advice._

END FLASHBACK

"The plan sucks." I told him earnestly.

"Hey, don't badmouth the plan, okay? The planm is a solid plan. It's the only way." Leo defended.

"It's true Percy." Frank told me, looking concerned.

"But... It's Annabeth." I argued weakly.

"Yeah, Annabeth that chose Derek. It's time to move, and you'll never do that if you hang around her." Jason said bluntly.

"You just need time." Grover told me.

"Fine, but he annoys me one more time, **one more** , I won't be responsible for my actions." I told them.

"You think you can take him?" Jason asked me.

"In time. I'm thinking of going to the gym, learning how to fight." I proposed.

"That's a great idea! And you'll be spending less time with Annabeth!" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, that too." I said dejectedly. I hate the fact that I won't get to spend as much time with Annabeth anymore, but the guys are right. It's absolutely killing me, seeing Annabeth with Derek. "Yeah, yeah okay. You guys are right. I'll spend less time with Annabeth. She'll probably be to busy with Derek anyway."

"It's gonna be all right Percy, it's gonna be all right." Frank comforted me.

"I just... I just need to be alone for a while... Sort out my thoughts." I told them.

"Okay, take care man." Jason told me, clapping me on the back. The guys all went into the cafeteria.

And I was all alone, once more. The guys are great and all, but pretty clueless. I think if I want to get over Annabeth, I'm gonna have to ask someone that got over her first love.

I'm gonna have to ask Thalia Grace for advice.

* * *

 **Whew, done. This one is** **pretty long if you ask me, and I have absolutely no idea what the hell I wrote. No seriously, I don't even know anymore. I hope you guys liked it, if not be sure to tell me why so that I can improve. After this, there will be a couple of time skips here and there, otherwise this story will progress veery slowly. Next chapter will be coming out Tuesday (there is a small chance on Sunday, but no promises) because I've got an insane amount of schoolwork and tests to study for. I won't bore you with the details.. Oh, and don't forget to vote on the poll in my profile. On to the reviews:**

 **To VCRx: Eh, what can I say? It is, what is.**

 **To Guest: That... is a really good idea! It's a great idea actually! I hope you don't mind if I incorporate that in the future! Thank you! :)**

 **To JamieValdez: Hell yeah, he's a savage! He's Persassy, after all. And I'll keep that idea in mind. I actually wrote it down for future reference, so thank you!**

 **To another Guest: You're in college? That's cool, what's it like? And if you thought he was annoying then... Look at now. I'm glad you liked the ending! Honestly, I've had this idea for like a year now after reading a couple of fanfic stories where Percy is a troublemaker, but I wasn't sure you guys would've liked it. Glad you did! :)**

 **To yet another Guest: Interesting. You have my attention.**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: You got that right. I'm actually looking forward to the next chapters, that's when I'll finally get to the point in the story I've been really looking forward to writing!**

 **To Starbreaker195: Yeah, no prob. just a question: You want me to Pm you my review, or review it under the story? And as for your idea: I love it. I hope you don't mind if I use it in the future chapters! You're a good writer in my opinion.**

 **To Fratzy: That's pretty cool of you. a teacher did that once to an obnoxious guy in my class. Shut him right up XD**

 **To Death to Brabie 0206: Aww, thank you! And I do intend to finish this story. I'm persistent like that. I'm glad you liked the ending, I loved writing it. I've had that, by the way, where I'll be laughing because of a fanfic and my fails just looks at me like ''What the hell is wrong with you? WTF?!" It's pretty great XD  
**

 **To... NONAME2002: Oh shit. *teleports because reasons to Alaska* Okay, okay, okay... I'm safe here. I'm safe here from demonic Leo, I' know it. *breathes in and out* *changes name* There, I'll be safe now. Phew, that was close.**

 **To Kale97: You and me both sister, you and me both! And honestly I do think Nico would stand up for himself when he really believe in something. Frankly, I don't think even I know what I'm gonna write in the future. I'm making all of this up as I go and it still shocks me that so many people like what I write. I fell blessed :)**

 **To this one Guest: Thanks! I try :)**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: Oh my gods! Happy Birthday! I hope you had a nice one! What did you do?**

 **To Sonofmagic26: Thanks bro, I try :)**

 **To allstaar: I'm glad you liked the ending, I loved writing it! I hope this is sorta what you had in mind with the Thalico relationship. And yeah, I completely agree with you, it it nice to see more POV's from characters. It helps move the story along nicely. That good first date, will have to wait though, but I promise you, it will come. In due time... And I'll try to keep doing what I'm dong, cause you guys seem to like hat.:)**

 **To BECKENDORK: Aaaand that makes more sense. Blackmail, nice nice. Rest that you even got blackmail material on someone bro. Respect. I'm thinking May for my funeral, although maybe that's just wishful thinking. By the way things are going I'll probably be dead by then :( I teleported myself away from the house, cause let's face it. Two doors ill not stop NONAME, frankly I don't think anything will. I'll just be on the run for the rest of my life, I guess... Sigh. Glad you liked the ending though! :D**

 **To PoppyOhare: Boom, done!**

 **All right, that seems to be all so good whatever-time-it-is-wherever-you-awesome-people-are and take care!**

 **Not-Joy**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the character (Except for maybe Derek Hughes)**

 **Percy's POV  
** Of course, the one time I really need Thalia, she wasn't here all day. She was off doing god knows what with god knows who. It's weird that Nico didn't come to school either, normally he asks me tot tag along with him whenever he plans on playing hooky. I wonder... Was this all related? Where Thalia and Nico..

Before I could finish that train of thought, I got interrupted by Piper.

"Hey Percy. What are you doing here? Everyone else left already."

I looked up at er. "I was just thinking, you know. Clearing my head a bit. I just came left detention. What are you still doing here?"

"Well, if Annabeth asks I was at detention with you." She answered.

"Uhh, okay? But what were you really doing?" I asked her confusedly.

She smirked evilly and just said "The less you know, the better. Trust me. Little tip for tomorrow, don't go near Derek's locker."

"Umm... Okay. Noted. May I ask why?" I asked, kind of afraid of the answer.

"Easy, I didn't to go to the movies with Annabeth and Douchey Derek."

I laughed. "Yeah, I get it. So you don't like him either?"

"You got that right. I do not like that guy." Piper stated bluntly. "I don't know what it is, I kinda hate him but I don't really have a reason to. It's a confusing feeling."

"Trust me, I **know.** " I told her.

"Oh yeah, on account of you being in love with Annabeth." Piper said in an understanding tone.

I nodded my head. "Exactly, you get it! Others don't-" And then I realized what she just said and my eyes widened. "Wait. What!?" I shouted. And then I started laughing nervously "I mean, whaat? I don't... I'm not in love with Annabeth! Why on earth would you even think that?"

She just furrowed her eyebrows. "Umm, because you are? It is kinda obvious you know, and I am sort of a psychic when it comes to love." She said as if it was obvious.

"Well, I guess you're wrong this time. I am not in love with Annabeth. I'm really not." I said exasperatedly, but internally I was sweating bullets. If it was obvious to Piper, was it also obvious to Annabeth?

She was checking at her nails when she said "If you're wondering wether Annabeth knows, the answer is no. She's even more oblivious to her feelings than you are."

I did a double take. Wait a second.. Is Piper telling me that Annabeth... could she.. does she.. Nah, if she even remotely liked me that way, wouldn't she be with me instead of Derek? I snorted and said "Yeah, right. Funny Piper, really funny. But Annabeth doesn't have any sort of feelings like that for me, and I don't have any feelings for her either. Obviously."

She just sighed and muttered "Fucking idiots" under her breath before turning to me and saying "So you're telling me, that you have absolutely no feelings for Annabeth whatsoever?"

"Absolutely none. She and I are friends. Just friends." I confirmed, feeling a little bit suspicious of that gleam in her eyes.

She arched a brow. "So, you wouldn't mind me setting you up then?"

I choked on air. "Umm..What?"

"Well, seeing as how you're single and ready to mingle, why not?" She said matter-of-factly.

I scratched behind my neck and cleared my throat "I mean that does make sense, but I don't think I'm ready for dating.. You know, seeing as how my first date ended before it could've really begun, my confidence in't really at an all time high."

She gained a look of understanding. "How.. How are you holding up by the way?"

"I'm fine."

When I saw the look her look of doubt, I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I lied to Piper once, maybe it's time to tell her the truth, just this once.

"Honestly? I don't know. I'm not really sure if I'm depressed. I mean, I'm not sad or anything. Not really. But I'm not really happy either. I can still laugh and joke and smile during the day just fine, but sometimes when I'm all alone at night I forget how to feel. Sometimes it's so bad, I can't even move, I can't speak, I can't breathe, I forget that I'm alive. I just lie there, head full of thoughts torturing me with me what-could-have-beens and heart filled with regret. And I.. I don't know what to do. I don't know what I could do. All I know is, that I want it to end. I just want to go to sleep.. But even there I'm haunted by memories I want to forget and desires I regret.. I just want to sleep Piper. I'm so tired, so fucking tired."

Piper just stood up, hugged me and whispered comforting words and I feel asleep, a dreamless sleep and finally forgot.

 **Thalia's POV  
** It took us longer to get to Nico's place than normal, blame Nico for that. He stopped me every five minutes, just to make out with me, it was like he never kissed me or something. Not that I minded, of course.

We were about t bring this party to the bedroom, when we got interrupted by the doorbell. We both pulled away and stared guiltily at the door, as if the person behind it could see us.

After a minute passed Nico said "Just ignore it,whoever it is will leave." And went back to kissing me.

The person didn't leave, in fact (s)he just rang the doorbell faster and louder. We both stopped once more, this time I glared at Nico to open the door.

He cursed and told me to hide. Once I was out of sight, he stomped to the door and ripped it open.

"What. Do. You. Fucking. Want?!" Nico shouted at the person behind the door.

Annabeth and some black-haired guy looked shocked at Nico's outburst.

Nico tapped his left foot impatiently and repeated the question. "Well? What do you want? And who the fuck are you?" He was looking at the guy now.

Annabeth blinked. "Umm.. Well, we were just wondering if you wanted to go to the movies with us?"

Nico just ignored her question and kept on staring at the black-haired guy. "Well? You gonna answer my question or just stand there gaping like a retarted fish?"

The other guy gulped and held his hand out. "Uhh, hey. I'm Derek. Derek Hughes, Annabeth's boyfriend."

Nico just looked him over and at his outstretched hand, so clearly unimpressed, and shrugged. I had to hold my laughter in. "Eh, not impressed. Pass on the movies, I've got other priorities right now. Bother me one more time, and I will kill you. Slowly and painfully. And no, that's not a threat, that's a promise." And then he slammed the door on their faces. I couldn't hold it in anymore, I bursted out laughing at Derek's face.

Nico shook his head and said "Now where were we?"

I smiled at him about to finish what we started, when a phone started to ring. "Godsdammit!" Nico cursed.

I grabbed my phone and saw that Annabeth was calling me. When Nico saw who was calling me, he muttered under his breath "I'm gonna kill her. I'm really gonna..." and walked away, knowing that the moment has passed.

I just ignored it and answered, because knowing Annabeth she'd probably keep calling until I picked up. "What?"

"Wow, is that how you greet your best friend now?" Annabeth asked.

"You're right, you're right. That's not the proper way to greet my best friend. Let me try again: What bitch?"

"Wow, I really feel the love here Thals. Why are you so touchy anyway? Did I... interrupt something?" She finished with a suggestive tone.

"Yes, so spit out whatever you wanna say and leave me alone."

"Geez, okay. You know, Nico acted kind of like you too. Weird."

I sighed and repeated the question, in a 'nicer' way. "Seriously Annabeth, why did you call me?"

"Except for the fact that I haven't seen you all day and just found out you're sleeping with some guy? I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the movies with me and Derek, you'll finally get to meet him."

"Pass."

"Great, so we're- wait. What?"

"Pass." I repeated.

"I don't get it. You've been pestering me all week to meet Derek, and now that I'm finally letting you you pass?"

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p'.

"Why?!"

"Ehh, I've got other priorities right now."

"Huh, Nico said the exact same thing." Annabeth observed. Shit, I've gotta change the subject. Fast.

"Why do you want me to go anyway?" I asked her.

"Well, because you're my best friend and I want you to meet my boyfriend."

"Mhmm, mmkay. Now the real reason please?"

"That is the real reason!"

"..."

She huffed. "Fine, I'm a little annoyed at Derek right now and I don't want to go to the movies with him, alone."

"So ask the others." I answered boredly. "You do know more than two people,ya know."

"Well, yeah, I know more than two people. And I did ask them! They're all busy. Nico, with I don't know what and frankly I don't even want to know. Percy and Piper have detention, Grover has this Greenpeace meeting, Hazel has to babysit tonight, Frank's grandmother won't let him, Leo has to work and Jason has football practice." She said exasperatedly.

I had to hold in my laughter, because none of that was true. While I don't know if Piper and Percy really have detention, I do know for a fact that the rest was all bullshit excuses., There is no football practice today, Leo never has the Monday shift, Hazel stopped babysitting a week ago, Grover always has Greenpeace meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays, never on Mondays and frank's grandmother moved back to China last month. Either they're all getting better at lying or Annabeth's becoming stupider. They must really not like Derek.

"Sorry I can't help Annie. You could always just cancel, claim it's that time of the month, you know." I proposed.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll call him and tell him I'm not feeling well or something."

"Problem solved then."

"You coming to school tomorrow?"

"Doy."

"Don't you 'doy' me. I thought you were going to school today, but you didn't so it's perfectly normal to ask you this question."

I just rolled my eyes, even though she couldn't see me. "Okay, yes I'm going to school tomorrow. Fill me in on what happened then."

"Only if you do the same."

"We'll see." And then I hung up.

"Finally!" Nico muttered, entering the room again. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to know if I wanted to go to the movies with her and her boyfriend."

"I don't like that guy." Nico stated.

"Why not?"

"He just gives off this vibe.. I just do not like it."

I sighed. "Is it because of his chin dimple?"

"..."

I slapped my face. "I swear you and Percy are both fucking children. You cannot hate a guy, just because of a chin dimple. I feel like I shouldn't even have to say that!" I said exasperatedly.

"It's creepy, okay? It's like a butt. But on his face. No pun intended. I don't want to look at it. But I can't not look away either."

"That made, absolutely no sense whatsoever."

"You make absolutely no sense whatsoever."

I sighed. "I swear, both fucking children..." I muttered.

He just smiled and said "You dig me."

Oh gods, why does that stupid sentence make my heart beat faster and my legs feel weaker? Like what the fuck?

"A grave maybe."

He just laughed, took me into his arms and whispered "Face it Thals, you dig me."

Cue butterflies in my belly and flutters in my chest. Damnit, that sentence really shouldn't affect me the way it does.

He looked at me expectantly, and even though he sounded confident I could see in his eyes a flicker of doubt pass, and I realized: I never said it back.

So I brought his head even closer and whispered into his lips "I dig you, Nico di Angelo, so fucking much, that it all feels like the first time again."

* * *

 **I am so fucking sorry for this. Honestly you guys have been waiting- what? 3?4? days for this chapter, and it turned out to be a filler. I just was not feeling particularly inspired today. Not gonna bore you with the details just gonna say this: Today sucked, hard. Anyhow I promise to post the next one tomorrow/Wednesday and I also promise that that one will be longer because I've got more free time to really think about what I'm gonna write. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter and how I could improve your reading experience and my writing skills. For those of you who are interested: I'll probably be posting the first ****chapter of my other story Defying Nature, tomorrow. No promises for that one though because I'm still not completely sure where I want to go with that story. I mean, even when I started this story, I kinda had an ending in mind, but with Defying Nature, I have absolutely no clue. Maybe I'll wing it, maybe I'll get inspired my a dream, we can only hope. Anywho, on to the reviews:**

 **To Thrawn13 (2x): Woah, chill out little dude. It's not done yet, this story's got like 10-15 chapters to go f I don't write too many fillers. So don't worry, there's still plenty of time. I'm glad you love this story enough to even consider it as one of your FAVOURITE PJO pics. I am truly honoured! :)**

 **To BECKENDORK: Thanks man, I try, I try. I wasn't really confident about that wedding part, I was worried you guys would've found it boring or something. Great tip, I was actually planning on running for the hills. Or mountains. That good? Oh, and I looked op buzz city by the way. I'm really confused. Is it a city or a stadium? If it is a stadium: I have further questions.**

 **To allstaar: I'm glad you liked it! I just winged it and hoped for the best, my strategy for life by the way. And I like writing those long chapters, but they take a lot of time. I write every chapter at once, so sometimes I'll be sitting at my desk for two hours writing a chapter other times even 3 if it's a really long one or if I'm feeling really inspired. I guess the length of the chapter really depends on my mood, my motivation and my inspiration. But yeah, I'll try writing longer chapters like that one :)**

 **To Fratzy: You and me both dude, you and me both. He's not a bad guy necessarily, but the way I picture him in my head... I hate him, I don't know why, I can't really explain it. I just do. But, I can'T bring myself to make him all jerky and stuff, because that would be really OOC for him. And as much as I too would love for Annabeth to overhear this conversation, I also think that it would be too soon. Annabeth will find out about Percy's feeling (because most of the time we can never really hide truth; it always comes out some way or another) but it will be later than this conversation. And thank you! You're a wonderful reader :)**

 **To another Guest: Interesting. I would actually love to study a year abroad in the UK, but sadly I do not have the money for a student exchange program. Do you already know what you wanna become?  
Yeah, I didn'T want Derek to be this completely perfect guy without any faults or any flaws. I hate those kind of characters, they're just not believable or realistic. And I loved writing about Thalico, and that group scene. I could literally imagine it in my head and it made me smile. So i hope it did the same to some of the readers too. Anyhow, good luck with your A levels, you do you baby boo.**

 **To PoppyOhare: Boom. Done!**

 **To Kale97: I'm sorry for killing you girl! I didn't mean too (okay, maybe I secretly did.. You'll never know *evil laughter*). Trust me, I'm pretty sure a lot of people are ready for that to happen, but I've got this plan in my head and I'm still working on the details. However, rest assured that for once I will be writing with an actual purpose, instead of just winging it and hoping for the best. Take care, and see you in the next chapter! :)**

 **To NONAME2002: Dude... That. Was. Motherfucking Awesome! It gave me goosebumps, honest to god, goosebumps! Whew, I'm glad I'm not Joy, but Not-Joy! That Joy is going down! If you want, I can help you find her, I hate that bitch! Just hit me up, and we'll roam the streets looking for her. *Says nervously* *starts sweating* No? Okay, that's cool... I'm just gonna.. Yeah.. I'm just gonna go now, me Not-Joy, going to my house. Bye.**

 **To VCRx: Eh, what can I say? Guys can be pretty stupid sometimes. So can girls though.**

 **To Cowtits the Udderly Glorious: No problem man! I hope you had a nice time and a nice meal! (Especially a great birthday cake! :)**

 **To Ducky: Probably 45, by my geusstimation.**

 **To Startbreaker195: Thanks dude! I appreciate the support :) I hope you saw my review and now know, that I am following your story and will be looking forward to YOU updating new chapters! :) Sometimes, I worry I move at a too slow pace, but then I remember I don't know how to make it faster other than with timeskips. Also, you don't always have to force yourself to slow down, because I have noticed you tend to add too many details, which makes it a little harder to read. But otherwise, you keep doing a great job! And don't worry about NONAME, I've got it all planned out. But in case I don't... make it: Avenge my death. Or buy me flowers, whichever fine.**

 **To Sonofmagic26: Dude... Never ever apologise for using that pun. I mean it. I fucking love that pun! I honestly don't think I'll ever get tired of it. I hope to god not.**

 **Okay, that seems to be all for now. To everyone and anyone reading this: Have a nice time and take care. I'll see you, tomorrow in the next chapter.**

 **Not-Joy**


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the characters**

 **Nico's POV  
** When Thalia said those words, my heart soared into the sky. I felt like I could literally do anything with her by my side. When we pulled away from the kiss I whispered "So... You wanna take this party to the bedroom?"

She smirked and just kissed me again. I'll take that as a hell yes. We were on our way, when life once more decided to intervene. Both our phones started ringing. We both looked at each other, waiting to see what would happen if we let it go to voice mail. For a second there it was silent, but then the ringing started again. Louder if that was possible. We both shared a look of resignation and went to pick up our phones.

I didn't even look at the caller before answering. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Is that any way to greet the awesomest person on earth?" Leo asked me.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "What do you want Valdez?"

"I got bored, decided to call you."

"WHAT?!" I barked. "Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm gonna kill y-"

"Oookay, that was a joke. Sheesh, someone's a little touchy today, even though you were the one that skipped school today. Did I interrupt something?"

I gritted my teeth and waited until I was calm enough before answering. "As a matter of fact, yes. Yes you did interrupt something. Something, I've been waiting for years now, so-"

"Sorry bro, I didn't mean to." Leo interrupted my rant. Bastard. "But me and the guys were wondering if you wanted to come over, hang out or you know hide out."

"Hide out?"

"Yeah, from Annabeth and her boyfriend."

"No need, she already passed by. Told her to fuck off."

"Seriously?"

"Well, not in those words." I admitted. "But she got the general idea."

"So? What do you think of Derek?"

"I hate him. I don't know what it is, but I do not like that guy." I stated bluntly.

"Right? Right?1 There's just something about him... I can't really explain. Any way, you coming over, or what?"

I hesitated. "I'm not sure I can."

"Aw, come on! We haven't seen you all day! Percy'll be back any second and we need to speak before he domes back."

"Back from where?" I asked.

"Detention." Leo answered.

"Why was he at detention?" I asked confusedly.

"You weren't here today, but Percy almost got into a fight with Derek." Jason answered. Leo must've put me on speakerphone.

I was flabbergasted. "Percy? Fight Derek? Did you see the size of that guy?"

"Yeah, but that was not gonna stop him. He said that if Derek annoys him one more time, just once, he won't hold back anymore." Grover explained.

"Oh crap. But Percy doesn't know how to fight!" I shouted.

"Yeah, that's not the problem though. The problem is, that Derek is fucking annoying and is bound to annoy Percy tomorrow, no actually scratch that. He will annoy Percy tomorrow." Jason said.

"Oh, fuck." I cursed. "We gotta do something! Percy doesn't have single shot in hell of winning that fight any time soon."

"Yeah, that's kinda of why we want, scratch that, need you to come over. We were gonna make a plan, you know a sort of Percy-watch program, to make sure Percy isn't gonna do something stupid." Frank piped in.

I nodded my head, even though they couldn't see me. "Yeah, yeah okay. I'm coming over. Where are you guys?"

"At Percy's place." Grover answered.

"... Why are you guys at Percy's?"

They all laughed uneasily. "Yeah.. Uhh.. We're kinda hiding from Annabeth." Leo explained.

"And we figured: She'd never look for us at Percy's." Jason added.

I sighed. "Okay, all right. That makes total sense. I'll be there soon." And then I hung up.

Man, I really, really, really want to finish this date. But. My bro needs me. I just hope Thalia will understand.

 **Thalia's POV  
** "What?!" I shouted at the person on the other side of the phone.

"Geez, someone's a little cranky. Is it that time of the month?" Piper remarked drily.

"Someone better be dying otherwise, leave me the fuck alone." I stated

"Well... No one is dead, but someone is asleep and fucking heavy. Is that close enough, or do yo want me to like... choke him or something?" Piper answered.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked her confusedly.

"Percy, sorta kinda passed out and I can't carry him." She explained.

That just brought up a whole new set off questions. "Okay, how about we start from the beginning, yeah? Where are you?"

"I'm at school."

"Mhmm, okay. Why in the world are you at school, at.. six p.m?"

"Well, I just finished setting up this trap in Derek's- I mean, I just left detention." She answered hurriedly.

I just shook my head at this, knowing that now was not the time to question Piper about her pranks. "Okay, okay.. Then what?"

"Bumped into Percy, had a heart-to-heart talk and then he passed out."

"Right, okay. And you called me because..?"

She sighed exasperatedly, as if it was obvious and said "Because, Percy is too heavy for me to carry and I need your help carrying him into my car."

"Oh, why not call any of the guys instead? Why me?"

"You don't think I tried?! They're all busy, something about a guy's meeting? And before you ask, Annabeth had plans so I didn't bother calling her, but yes I called Hazel-"

"Hi!" Hazel said in the background.

"-but it turns out Percy is still too heavy to carry, so get your ass over here grace and help us carry Percy!"

Guy's meeting? I snorted. What would they have to talk about, let alone have a meeting? Not important right now. I sighed and said "Fine ,I'm on my way. I'll see you guys soon."

I hate leaing the date before really ending it, but Percy needs me. I hope Nico will understand.

-Line Break-

 **3rd Persons POV  
** Thalia and Nico approached each other in the living room, neither of them eager to start the conversation.

"So, I-" The both started.

"Oh, go ahead." Nico said.

"No, no. You say what you have to say." Thalia told him.

"No, I insist."

"No, no. I insist."

"Okay, well-"

"Alright, so-" They both started again.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." Nico stated.

"No kidding. How about we say it at the same time?" Thalia proposed.

"Sounds like a plan. Okay, 1.. 2.. 3!"

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go!" They both shouted.

"Wait. What?" They said simultaneously.

"Okay, stop that." They said at the same time.

"I'm not kidding, stop it." They said together.

"You have to go?" Nico asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, the girls need me for something. You have to go too?"

He sighed. "Yeah, the guys need me for something."

They both stared at each other, sharing an exasperated smile, reveling in the fact they were both in the same situation.

"What would they do without us?" Nico asked jokingly.

"Probably die." Thalia answered with an amused grin.

"I'll pick you up for school, okay?" Nico said, holding the door open for her.

"You don't have to." She answered.

"I want to. After all, you are my girlfriend."

Thalia blushed and said "Okay, then boyfriend. See you at 7?"

"Great, see you then." He answered.

And then they parted with a kiss, going their separate ways.

 **Thalia's POV**

I honestly don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't Piper and Hazel sitting under Percy, drawing on his face and playing with his hair. Or them taking selfies with him afterwards. No respect for other people- Okay, I couldn't even finish that thought because if it was me, I'd have probably done something much worse to him.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Taking selfies, duh." Piper answered.

"No, no. I get that part. But why are you both underneath Percy?" I clarified.

Hazel started fanning her face, looking scandalized. "Thalia! Don't say that!"

I was confused. "What? Say what? All I said was, that I don't understand why you're both under- Oh, wow. Yeah, now that I think about..."

"...That did kind of sound dirty." Piper finished. And then Piper looked at me and said "Okay, either Hazel recently developed a dirty mind, or we're just losing our touch."

And then we both stared at Hazel expectantly. She started blushing at all of the attention she was getting, or maybe the reason why she was getting all of that attention.

"Guys, can we please just focus on getting Percy off?" She asked. And then started blushing heavily. "Not like that!"

Piper and I both blinked, only now realizing that maybe Hazel has a dirtier mind than us; 'cause I wasn't even thinking of the double meaning and looking at Piper's look of realization, neither did she.

I smirked. "Okay Hazel, I'll help you guys get Percy off."

"Thalia!" She exclaimed, shocked.

"What's wrong Hazel? I thought you wanted my help?"

"Yeah, you'Re the one who asked me to call Thalia for help getting Percy off." Piper agreed.

By this point Hazel was redder than a firetruck and fanning herself like her life depended on it. "Guys? Can we please stop talking about this?"

"But, then how can I help you guys?" I asked innocently.

"Yeah, we gotta talk about this Hazel. Otherwise we won't have any plan for getting Percy off!" Piper said in an equally innocent voice.

Aaaaand then Hazel fainted. Shit, that was not the plan.

"Crap! Hazel? Hazel, are you okay?" Piper asked in a concerned tone.

"Shit, please tell me she's just getting back at us for teasing her." I panicked. "She's alive right?"

Piper listened for a heart beat. "Okay, yes she's still alive. I'm gonna try shaking her awake."

Nothing happened. "Shit, okay, okay. Okay... Let me try something." And then I neared her body, doing my best to remember how to perform CPR. Man, I really should've payed more attention in health class.

"How do you do CPR again?" I asked Piper when I was sitting beside Hazel.

"I don't know! I wasn't paying attention!" Piper shouted.

"Shit, me neither!"

"Thalia.. Her chest stopped moving. Please tell me that's supposed to happen." Piper panicked.

I looked over at Hazel, and sure enough her chest stopped moving. "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen. What the fuck do we do now?!"

"Wait, we should come closer. Maybe she's just breathing really quietly." Piper proposed.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, yeah.. That makes sense. That makes perfect sense."

So we both came closer to Hazel's head, to see if she was still breathing when she gave us a heart attack.

She jumped up and shouted "BOO!" and took a video of our reactions.

Piper and screeched as loud as we could and fell backwards on my ass, or in Piper's case sidewards. The pen Piper was holding somehow hit my face, leaving a black smudge between my eyebrows, while Piper fell face first in the grass. When she sat back up, she was spitting grass, because apparently, she did not close her mouth when she landed.

Hazel started laughing her ass of. "Oh gods. Did you see you guys' faces? Priceless!"

Piper and I were both confused. "But, you were.. You.. We thought... Were you faking it?" Piper asked astonished.

Hazel just smiled smugly and said "Yup. You guys fell for it, big time."

I was just as shocked as Piper. "But.. But.. You.. We.. How..? Why..? I'm confused."

"I was getting tired of you guys teasing me, so I devised this plan to get you guys to stop and some blackmail material. And it worked." She answered smugly, showing us the video of us screaming like banshees and the pictures she took afterwards.

"You planned all of this in seconds?" I asked astonished.

She smirked evilly, and both Piper and I shuddered. We just gained newfound respect (and fear!) for Hazel, because damn! She played us like a violin, and we didn't even suspect a single thing, because you know, it's Hazel. Sweet, innocent Hazel.

"You just became, my new hero." Piper stated.

"And my new role-model. Seriously, teach me everything you know!" I told her earnestly. Piper nodded in agreement.

Hazel just laughed and said "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I don't know yet."

"Aww, come on! Please?" Piper pleaded.

"Guys."

"We'll see." was Hazel's reply.

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Piper tried.

"Guys." I tried again.

"Mmmm. Maybe." Hazel said smugly.

"But-"

"Guys!" I shouted, effectively getting their attention.

"What?" Haze asked.

"We got completely sidetracked!" I pointed out.

"Oh my gods, I completely forgot about Percy!" Piper exclaimed.

"Hey wait, we're not underneath him anymore!" Hazel remarked.

"Oh yeah! I didn't even notice! When did that happen?" Piper wondered.

"Probably when Hazel scared the living crap out of us." I theorized. "You must've gotten crazy strong after that adrenaline boost and pushed him off of you guys."

"And yet he's still asleep." Hazel observed.

We all looked at Percy and sure enough, he was just laying there on the grass snoring.

"Man, he must be a really deep sleeper." I stated.

"True that." Hazel agreed.

"Aww, lay off him. He's had a couple of rough nights." Piper defended him.

"How do you know?" I asked her.

"He told me."

"Why can't he sleep?" Hazel asked.

"I can't say." Piper said apologetically. "It's kind of personal."

"...ew! I did not want to know that." Hazel said with a scandalized face.

It took us a second to get what she was talking about. "What? What are you- Ohh, no! No! It's not that!" Piper exclaimed with a disgusted face.

"I hope not. Otherwise I wanna know how you guys got on that topic in the first place." I quipped.

"Gross! Guys, that's just disgusting. I did not need that mental image in my brain!" Piper shouted.

"How do you think we feel?" I told her, Hazel agreeing.

"Oh man, we got sidetracked. Again." Piper pointed out.

"Well, we do have ADHD." I reasoned.

"Okay, for a second I forgot that. Now all of our conversations make a lot more sense." Hazel realized.

"Oh yeah. It does make more sense now." I agreed. "Okay, off topic. Where are we gonna take him?"

"Not in my place, my relatives are visiting." Hazel said.

"Yeah, not my place either. You leave a guy that looks like Percy asleep in our house, and I can guarantee you one of my sisters will just eat him up." Piper told us.

"Well, we can't take him to my place. Not with my mom home." I pointed out.

"What about Nico's place?" Hazel suggested.

"No can do, he's not there." I told them.

"Umm... How do you know that?" Piper asked, looking confused together with Hazel. "Nico was gone all day."

Oh shit. Crap. Damn it all to hell. Think Thalia, think! Oh, I got it. "Well, you said the guys were having a guy's meeting, so I figured he'd probably be there too cause he's a – you know- guy?" I told them like it was obvious.

"Ohh yeah. Well, that rules out Jason's place." Piper said.

"And Frank's." Hazel added.

"And Leo's" I announced.

"Plus Grover's." Hazel finished.

"Wait, where are the guys having their meeting if it isn't at Jason's, Frank's, Grover's or Leo's place?" I asked Piper.

"I.. Forgot to ask them that." Piper admitted sheepishly.

"Why don't we just take him to his place?" Hazel proposed.

"Well, what about his parents?" Piper asked. "Wouldn't they think it's kinda weird seeing three girls carrying in their unconscious child to his bedroom?"

"Nah, I think I remember Percy telling me that they were gonna stay late at their work." I told them.

"Again? Are they ever home?" Hazel wondered.

"I don't know. From what he tells me, not really. They'Re really-"

"Okay, guys. We'Re getting distracted again." Piper interrupted.

"Right, ok. So we'Re going to bring him to his place then?" Hazel asked.

"Depends, you know how to pick a lock?" Piper asked Hazel.

"Umm... No. But I do have a key." Hazel answered.

"Why do you have a key?" I asked her.

"Percy gave it to me!" She said defensively. "He said to use it in case of emergence because he trusts me the most."

"I...'m not even gonna argue with that." I said.

"True." Piper agreed.

"Well, how about we go bring him to his place then." I announced.

"Sounds like a plan. Lift with your knees guys." Piper answered. "1... 2... 3.. LIFT!"

Oh fuck, Percy was heavier than he seemed.

 **Nico's POV  
** "Guys, Nico is here!" Leo shouted the moment he opened the door. "Dude, where is the pizza?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What pizza?"

"Didn't I tell you to bring pizza?" Leo asked.

"No. No, you did not." I answered.

"Damn, I really wanted pizza." Leo cursed. "Is there any chance, any chance at all, you'd consider getting picking up pizza?"

After seeing my deadpan look he said "Ookay, I'll take that as a no."

-Line Break-

"Dude, where the hell have you been all day?" Jason asked me the moment I entered the living room.

"Oh, you know. Going on a date with your sister." I said sarcastically. There, now if they get mad at me in the future for not telling them sooner, I can just say that I did technically tell them. Sometimes, I just get these strokes of genius.

"Dude, I'm being serious here." Jason answered.

"I didn't feel like going to school." I told them. "Besides, I didn't come here to get interrogated! I mean, what is this? The Spanish inquisition? Gods."

Jason put his hands up. "Okay man, chill. I was just curious. Normally you tell us when you plan on skipping or at least why you skipped."

"Ookay then. On to more important matters: Which pizza should we order? I vote pizza Leo."

"Pizza Leo?" Frank asked. "What's that?"

"Hot and spicy, just like me." Leo winked.

We all laughed, that was a good one. "Nah, I'm not feeling spicy. How about Pizza Jason?"

Jason proposed.

"Nah, I'm not feeling like eating margarita." Frank answered.

"Hey, Pizza Jason is not margarita!" Jason bristled.

"No, it is." Leo defended Frank. "Plain and safe, just like you."

"I'm not safe! Or plain!" Jason protested.

"Well... no offense man, but you kind of are the average joe." I told him.

"I am not! Give me one example of me being an 'average joe'!" He challenged

"Well, there was that time you decided to stay in and do homework instead of joining me and Percy on his first bro's night out." Leo recalled.

"And that time you wanted to stay in, instead of going to that party. If we didn't drag you out you'd probably still be a virgin." I remembered.

"Oh, oh! What about that time he won that contest and he could've had any flavor of ice cream, any flavor at all, for free and he chose vanilla with no toppings." Grover brought up.

"Right! Or that time he took his first girlfriend to the movies on their first date." Frank proclaimed.

"Or that time-" Leo started.

"- Okay, okay! I got it... And I said ONE example." Jason interrupted, hiding his face. "So I like to play it safe sometimes, nothing wrong with that."

"Of course not homie! But the ladies like a little excitement in their lives. A little... Danger." Leo advised. "Trust me, I know the workings of a female mind or my name isn't Super-sized McShizzle."

"Guys, we're getting off topic." Grover pointed out.

"Right! Damn our ADHD minds!" Jason shouted.

"Right, I'll just tell the pizza man to surprise us." Leo announced.

"Okay, tell me: What did I miss today?" I asked.

"Well, we all met Derek." Frank said.

"Man, I do not like that guy." Jason stated. "He's so annoying!"

"Yeah, I met him too. I hate him." I told them.

"I don't like him either, but I don't actually know why." Frank agreed.

"Well... I wouldn't want to spend more time with him." Grover admitted.

Leo enter the room. "Hey, what are we talking about? Douchey Derek?"

"Bingo." Jason shouted.

"Man, that guy just rubs me the wrong way." Leo said.

"Well, we are all kind of biased." Grover pointed out. "It's possible he's a perfectly nice guy, but we all just hate him because we ant Percy and Annabeth to be together."

"Nah, for me that guy's just a douche." Jason stated.

"Okay, then what happened?" I asked them.

"Well, it turns out he's got almost all of his classes with Percy. Including English." Frank continued the story. "So apparently he..." _**(I'm just gonna skip that, cause we all know what happened)**_

-Line Break-

"...and then school ended." Grover finished.

"I'm gonna kill him." Was my first reaction. "No guy, gets my cousin, MY cousin, in trouble and gets away with it."

"I like the way you think! After this meeting, we should talk. I've got a couple of ideas for revenge." Leo told me.

"You got yourself a deal Valdez." I said smirking evilly.

The other guys just gulped and muttered their condolences to future Derek, which was understandable. Leo and I, individually, can be pretty awful. Add us in one team, you've got pure evil.

"So... Allison huh?" I asked Leo.

"Yes! That girl has got the hots for the Perce-man. I saw it with my own eyes!" Leo said excitedly.

"I approve, I heard she's really nice." I said appreciatively. "She's friend with that new girl. What's her name again? Cassidy? Camille?"

"No, no. I think it was Candace." Grover corrected.

"Anyway, doesn't matter. What's most important right now, is that we reinforce the plan and add operation Percy-watch." Leo announced.

"Which plan?" Frank asked.

"You know, the plan. The one where Percy stays away from Annabeth as much as possible?" Leo reminded him.

"Oh yeah, Maybe we should give it a name?" Frank proposed.

"You mean like a codename? Because I love that idea." Leo told him.

"How about operation Bravo?" Jason proposed.

"Nah, that's too boring. We should call it project Azetctomb!" I argued.

"No way. I think sounds operation Magnumopus cooler." Frank protested.

"Are you guys crazy? Obviously it should be called operation Darkfire!" Leo countered.

-Line Break-

"So we all agree, the plan will from now on be called Operation Optimusprime, double O for short." Leo concluded. Everyone muttered their agreements. "Great, now that that's settled, we need another code name for the Percy-watch program."

Everyone groaned. "Why don't we just call it the Birdwatch?" Grover proposed.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that." Frank announced.

"Same." Jason agreed.

"I honestly do not care." I told them.

"okay, then It's settled. The Percy-watch program is now called the Birdwatch." Leo concluded. "Now we gotta work out the details."

Everyone groaned again, but then we sat around the table and started planning out who would do what.

"So, I'm thinking someone should go to the gym with him ,that way Annabeth won't be suspicious and Percy won't go running into Annabeth's arms." Leo proposed.

"Sounds good. I can take him to my gym." Jason volunteered.

"Great, so that's gonna be on.. Sundays?" I asked.

"Yeah, I can do Sunday." Jason answered.

"He could always join Greenpeace." Grover offered. "We'e always looking for more volunteers."

"So that would keep him busy on Wednesdays and Thursdays?" Leo asked.

Grover confirmed.

"Okay, so that just leaves...Monday, Tuesday and Saturdays that we have to fill." I conluded.

"What about Friday's?" Frank asked.

"Nah, on Friday's we already have bro's night." I told him.

"And sometimes friend's night." Leo added.

"Well, what if he just chooses what he does on Saturdays? You know, kind of like a day where he can do anything he wants?" Grover proposed.

"That's dangerous. I want what's best for my cousin. I mean, obviously we're gonna run all of this by him to make sure he doesn't have any protests or anything, but we can't forget that he's in love with Annabeth. It's not just some little crush that'll go away in a week. If he really truly wants to move on, he's gotta stop seeing her. There is no other way. The more time he spends with Annabeth, the harder it'll be for him to date other people. He'll always have hope that him and Annabeth'll end up together, so he'll never even try. If Annabeth is really serious about Derek, then witnessing their relationship bloom, will just kill him. Slowly and painfully." I explained. "Percy is in love with Annabeth, and the only way to get over that is to spend time away from her." And the we heard a gasp.

We all turned, and saw Piper, Hazel and Thalia carrying an unconscious Percy with drawings all over his face and his hair sticking out weirdly.

"Percy is in love with Annabeth?" Thalia gasped out.

Oh shit crap damn it all.

* * *

 **And here we go, as promised a new chapter. A longer chapter. This one focused more on the group, instead of Percy cause why not? Next chapter will focus more on Percy and will contain Annabeth's POV. I think if I update my other story tomorrow, I'll be updating this one either Friday or Saturday. Oh dear, everyone but Annabeth (and Derek) knows about Percy's secret! What will happen next? What do you think will happen next? Honestly, I was first planning on Annabeth finding out this way, but then I ****remembered: This was all still about one day. Gods, I ramble a lot in my writing! I wanted Annabeth to find out, but like in a month ( two. or three) or after Percy spent less time with her. But it hasn't even been one day! I'm gonna have to work with time skips, otherwise this story will never end. Especially if add so many details in a day. Anywhoo what did you guys think go this chapter? Loved it? Hated it? Didn't care for it? Be sure to let me know, so that I can improve! Oh and please, please, please don't forget to vote on the poll in my profile. Thanks in advance. Okay, on to the reviews:**

 **To Guest: Aw, thanks man! And I'd give you luck any time. Don't sweat it dude, most people don't know what they want to do. It is a pretty big choice to make, but just remember: Most of the time, the choice you make isn't final so don't sweat it. If you're planning on going into the film industry, let me know what that's like cause I'd honestly would like to know. I love movies (especially animated ones!). As for me, I'm not really sure yet. I'd love to become an author, but I'm not really sure if I got what it takes, ya know? I'll probably become an interpreter or something, because I'd love it if I could travel for my job. I think I'd really hate sitting at a desk all day. I'm definitely not doing anything in the medical field, that I'm sure of. I can't stand the sight of other people's blood, and I kinda hate being around sick people. So yeah, obviously I can't be a doctor or a surgeon. I'm glad you think that that chapter was worth waiting 4 DAYS for, I really am. And don't underestimate waiting, it can be painful XD. As for my new story, I'll be updating that one tomorrow for sure. Today just got a lot busier than planned, so I had a lot less time to write a new chapter for that one. As for your question, that'll most probably be answered next chapter, so stay tuned! And as for the amount of time it takes to answer these reviews: It depends on the amount of reviews. Sometimes it'll just take me 15 mins, other times it can be up to like 30-45 mins. It really depends on the amount and the content of the reviews. There, I hope I answered your questions :)**

 **To Sally Stevens: We'll just have to wait and see. Seriously I'm the writer and I don't have a clue. All I can tell yo is: A storm's a brewing...**

 **To Kale97: Aww, thanks girl! I was worried that Nico was too OOC here, so I'm glad you like this portrayal of him! And yeah, he kinda did switch with Percy, but Percy isn't in a good place right now so I couldn't just write him as happy. Because well, the girl he loves is with another guy, (and while I don't have much experience here so bear with me) I'm pretty sure people aren't happy in that situation. And trust me, it makes me sad writing Percy as lost and upset, but sometimes we just gotta get lost to find what we're looking for. And who knows? Maybe some beautiful, amazing girl will come along soon to mend his broken heart ;) And thanks, I guess we all have bad days once in a while. Good luck on your tests though! I believe in you :)**

 **To another Guest: Thanks dude! Here is yet another update! And thanks, I didn't have much time today, so I'll just update that story tomorrow, cool?**

 **To NONAME2002: Hey man, I understand how you feel. I used to feel exactly the same way Percy did. I'm the kind of person, that when you say 'We're gonna be friends forever' I actually take it seriously. So of course i get hurt when people leave me after promising forever, because they're always fine, they've always got more friends, but I'm just stuck all alone. So don't worry man, you're not alone. But it's gonna get better. I don't know how, I don't where, I don't know when, I just know it will. Once you learn how to love yourself, the rest will follow. So you do you baby boo. You do you. I'm not gonna tell to have a nice day, because well... Not every day can be nice. I'm just gonna tell you, to have a day. Stay alive, feed yourself well, wear comfortable clothes and don't give up on yourself just yet. It'll get better. Until then, have a day. (Ps. I'd hug you, but then you'll have to promise not to kill me in my moment of weakness.) _(Pps. As much as I'd have loved it if I thought of this first, I saw this quote somewhere on tumblr, so some elects of that has been taken from that quote.)_**

 **To Fratzy: Thank you! Thanks for the advice, I'll keep that in mind! maybe Piper or Thalia can tell Annabeth that al wise and shit.**

 **To BECKENDORK: Ohh, okay. I think I might've heard of the Hornets. My brother loves sports and talks about it all the time, so it's possible I've heard that from him. Basketball? Right? And congrats on meeting the team! I wish I could ask you interesting questions about the players, but unfortunately sports is not my thing. But how was the experience? What were they like?... Did they stink?**

 **To Cowtits the utterly Glorious: No problem dude. You'd do the same for me :) And thank you, that really makes me happy to hear!**

 **To PoppyOhare: Here ya go :)**

 **To Starbreaker195: All I can say is, you should definitely check out next chapter. (It'll have Annabeth's POV). Aww, That sucks! I'd hate it if that happened to me! I think you did a great job. Thanks for the flowers. They're beautiful. Nice play on words sir, nice play on words. I can now, truly rest in peace :)**

 **To : I'm the kind of person, that would feel guilty for something that wasn't my fault. Like if someone bumped into me, I'd still say sorry to them. And hey, we all go in our own pace. There's nothing wrong with that. In the ned it's quality over quantity.**

 **Okay, that's all of 'em. It is now, suuuper late so I'm gonna end it here. Have a nice -insert time in your country- everyone! I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Or other story if you miss me XD**

 **Joy**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson**

 **Percy's POV  
** I woke up from this incredible nap, feeling refreshed and well rested, something I haven't felt in what feels like years. Weirdly enough, I wasn't in my bed like I expected, instead I was on the floor of my living room. Now, I had no trouble believing that I might have fallen asleep on my way to my bedroom-That would explain the pain I felt throughout my body- but what I didn't understand was, why the hell everyone was in my living room and why the girls were gaping at me like a fish, why the guys looked guilty as hell and why Nico was wearing this 'please-kill-me-now' look on his face, that I swear I've seen before... Oh yeah! It was that time he accidentally blurted out that I was in love with Thalia.

I stood up, yawned and looked around. "So, should I just assume you guys live here from now one? Because, you know, you all pretty much come in here whenever you feel like apparently. Which is fine and all, I really don't mind but why the hell are you all looking at me like that?!"

"It all makes sense now." Thalia said in as if it was obvious.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before." Hazel said, disappointed in herself.

"Eh, it was pretty obvious if you knew what to look for." Piper said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

"Okay, what the hell are you guys talking about? What makes sense now? What as so obvious? I want answers, dammit!" I shouted.

Thalia was about to open her mouth, when Nico silenced her with a look. He cleared his throat and said "I should be the one to say it. Alone."

With that everyone shared a look, before all congregating in the kitchen leaving me -very confused- with Nico.

"What the hell is going on dude?" I asked him.

He avoided eye-contact and laughed nervously. "You remember that time I accidentally blurted out to Thalia and Annabeth you were in love with Thals?"

I just stared at him weirdly and said "Vividly. It was the first time that I got slapped by a girl, well a person really. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Um, well... How mad were you at me?"

I had to think about my answer there, because the truth was, I never really thought about it before. I mean, I knew I was mad, really mad, furious in fact, but I don't think it was directed at Nico. No, I was mad at myself for not telling Annabeth that. Now that I think about it, that didn't really make sense. "Uhh.. not really? I was mad at myself, sure, but never at you. I mean, I knew it was like a one time thing, you know. You probably learned your lesson, after all: Once is a mistake, twice is a choice. Am I right?"

He gulped and laughed nervously, looking sort of guilty. I wonder why. "Yeah, yeah you're right. But then again, some people do honestly make the same mistake twice. Sometimes even worse than the first time."

I frowned. "I guess so? I mean, it would depend on the situation."

"Exactly! Like, if the person wasn't paying attention he, or she, could make the same mistake twice."

"Well, yeah. But if he or she made that mistake because he or she wasn'T paying attention, then he or she should have learned from that experience and paid attention to their surroundings."

"I hear ya, I hear ya. But, what if he or she was distracted?"

"Okay, is this conversation going anywhere, or what? Because so far, it feels like you're avoiding answering my question."

"Um... What was your question again?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Er, uh.. Well, Trump is president now."

"Dude, that's old news and not what I meant. Okay, let's start with a simple question: Why is everyone here?"

"Well, the guys and I had a meeting. The girls dragged you in unconscious."

"... That brings up more questions than it answers. Can't you just tell me what's going on?"

He gulped and looked at me seriously. "I'll tell. But. You have to promise not to get mad at me."

I looked at him confusedly. "No."

He looked relieved. "Okay, so what happened was- Wait. Did you say no?"

"Yes."

"Yes, as in, yes I promise I won't get mad at you?"

"No. Yes, as in I did say no."

"So, yes on saying no to getting mad at me?"

"Wha? I'm confused."

"Yeah, me too. Let's go get some frozen yoghurt." Nico said, grabbing his jacket. "I'll pay!"

I grabbed him by the hood and dragged him back in the living room. "Tell me what happened, now!" I demanded.

He cleared his throat and avoided eye-contact. "Well, I was talking to the guys and..." and then he started mumbling to himself.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you!"

"The girls, may or may not know you're in love with Annabeth." He admitted. My eyes widened at this and my jaw fell open. And then he mad it worse. "Closer, to may know... And with that I mean, they know."

I blinked and started stuttering. "What.. But.. How did they..? When did they..? I don'T.. I didn'T... What?! How the hell did they found out?!"

"I don't really remember.. There's a lot of theories floating around. Some of them involve Birdwatching and uhhh.. Optimusprime and shit. You know, normal stuff."

Then Jason stuck his head out of the kitchen door way and asked "So, did you tell him you were the one to blurt out the fact that he's in love with Annabeth?"

When he saw my shocked face and Nico's glare directed at him he looked embarrassed and said "Oh. You didn't..? I'm just gonna... Yeah... Oh, I think I hear Piper calling me. What was that? Avalanche? In the kitchen? Sounds like they really need me there. I'm coming!" And then he went back into the kitchen.

I turned to Nico and glared venomously at him. Nico just shook his head and said "Can you believe that guy? That Jason, can't even keep a darn secret for five minutes. Some people, I swear..."

"Yeah, I really hate it when people can'T keep their mouth shut." I said sarcastically.

He sighed and looked at me apologetically. "I'm really sorry Percy. I didn't do it on purpose! Me and the guys, we were talking about how we could help you with this Annabeth problem, and then the girls barged in on the worst possible moment. I didn't mean to spill the beans, you've got to believe me!"

I just sighed, feeling impossibly tired once more, and sat down on the couch. "I believe you."

"I'm serious, I didn't- Wait, you believe me?"

"Yeah, I believe you. I know you wouldn't do it on purpose dude, you just have the worst luck. It'S okay, we'Re cool."

"Are you mad at me? I feel like you should be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just... tired I guess."

"No, you should be mad at me. In fact, you should punch me!" He said like it was the greatest idea ever.

"What?!"

"Yeah, you should punch me in the face. I mean, I blurted out twice that you were in love with someone. Twice. You should punch me twice!"

"I'm not gonna punch you, let alone twice. I feel like I shouldn't even have to say that out loud."

"Hit me." he said, getting in my face.

"No!"

"Please?"

"No! I am not punching my own cousin in the face."

"Come on, you know you want to. All of that stress and anger of seeing Annabeth with that douche... No way to express those emotions that are building up... You should punch me, for your health."

"No! There is no way I am punching you in the face. I don't care if my life depended on it, I am not punching my cousin."

He sighed. "I didn't want to have to do this... I think your mom's hot."

"What?!"

"I think your mom, is hot as hell and I would very much like to tap that. Can I get an amen?"

Okay, I'll admit that was starting to piss me off. But, not enough to punch him. "That's just disgusting dude. That's my mom. And technically your aunt."

"Not in blood my friend, not in blood. Fist bump?" I did not return bump that fist.

"No. Just no. It's not gonna work dude, just drop it. We'Re cool."

"We will be, once you hit me. So, hit me!"

"No!"

"I'm dating Thalia."

"I won't hi- Wait. What?"

"I've been dating Thalia, for a week now. I told her all the details of your little crush, and sometimes we just sit there and laugh about it. You know why you'Re not with Annabeth? It's because you don't take what you want. No girl will ever be in love with 'll always be the friend never the boy-"

And then I hit him. Hard. And I just kept hitting him, and hitting him and hitting him. I saw red, I wasn't even completely aware of what I've done until Frank and Jason pulled me off of him.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Thalia shrieked at me, helping a bloody Nico sit up.

"Shhh, Thalia. I'm okay, I told him to hit me. Hell, I provoked him to hit me. It's my fault, I said something I knew was gonna get to him. I didn't mean it though, you know that right?" He said, looking at me in the end.

When I saw his face, I was disgusted with what I had done. Oh gods, I did that. I lost control. I'm the worst cousin ever, what the hell is wrong with me?! "Oh gods, Nico! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have punched you! I..I.."

"Percy, trust me. It's okay, we'Re good now. It was my fault, okay? Not yours. I didn't mean anything of what I said. It's not true, all right?"

I shook my head, looking anywhere but him. "No, you're right. You'Re absolutely right. It's my fault that I haven't had a girlfriend yet. Or gone on a date. Or lost my virginity. It's my fault. No girl will ever love me. You were right. I'm the reason. I'm the mistake."

He stood up, grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. "No. You'Re wrong. I was wrong. One day, a girl is gonna be lucky enough to have you, an it'll be absolutely amazing. You know why? Cause you're Percy motherfucking Jackson! You'Re awesome. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"What if that girl doesn't exist? What if.." And then he slapped me.

"Never think like that dude, there's always someone for you. Always."

"But, what if everyone just gets one chance, and I already messed up my one?"

"Impossible. Based on statistic alone, that's impossible. I don't believe there's just one person for everyone. I believe that you have multiple chances at love in life, it just depends on wether you're brave enough to take them. And I know you Percy, you're the bravest person I know. And worst come to worse, you'll still never be alone, you've got us."

Everyone nodded in agreement and I had to smile. What did I do to deserve such an amazing group of friends?

Looking around at their supportive faces, I knew that they weren't just friends, they were family! Okay, I can do this. I'll be fine.

But, because I'm me, I just had to break this weird emotional moment, cause it was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. "Aww... You guys... Do you know if I can get a refund if I return you?"

Leo looked appalled. "You'd be willing, to return all of this?!" gesturing at himself.

I looked him up and down and said "In a heart beat."

"Treason! We sir, are no bro's now! No bro!" He announced dramatically, fake crying for good measure.

We all laughed, and Thalia came up to me and put me in a headlock, giving me a noogie. "Shut up Kelp Brains, you know you won't do better than us!"

" Yeah, we'Re the best. We charm people." Piper said, flipping her hair exaggeratedly.

"Everyone's blown away by our electric personality!" Jason told me.

"Yeah we transform the atmosphere of a room, the moment we enter." Frank agreed.

"We're diamonds in this mine we call earth." Hazel announced dramatically.

"Everyone becomes green with envy, whenever they see us." Grover added.

"We're on fire!" Leo shouted. "Wait, no. We're straight up fire!"

"We light up any room we enter!" Thalia acknowledged.

"Yeah, we can put the fun in funeral!" Nico stated.

Everyone looked at him. "Dude, that's not cool." Leo told him seriously.

Nico nodded and scratched behind his neck. "Yeah, I knew the moment I said it, it was a mistake. I'm sorry, we were all doing puns and I wanted to join in. I went too far, I'm sorry."

"That's okay dude, we now you weren't... searious." I comforted him.

"We're weird." Piper announced.

"Water you saying?" I asked her.

"I think we've unleashed a monster." Thalia stated.

"Don't act so crabby!" I told her.

"Percy, stop." Nico pleaded.

"I'm sorry... I didn't do it on porpoise.."

"Oh dear gods..." Jason groaned. "What have we done?!"

-TIME SKIP: 1 MONTH-

 **Annabeth's POV  
** Everything between me and Derek was going great again! I don't know what it is, but the past month has been amazing! It's like when he first came here! We stopped fighting, he's a lot less annoying, everything's just better now. I don't know what it is specifically, maybe he changed, maybe I changed, maybe we both grew up, but whatever it is, it's definitely working. I've got a strategy now, whenever Derek starts to annoy me, I just go hang out with Percy. And that did wonders to my relationship with Derek.

It was just another Friday, and we were currently having lunch when Piper came up to us and asked excitedly "Do you guys already have a date for prom?"

"I figured I was gonna go with, you know, my girlfriend. Annabeth." Derek said in a sort of know-it all voice, still pissed at Piper because of that prank she pulled on him.

FLASHBACK

 _".. and that's why I'm never eating at McDonalds again" Derek concluded his story._

 _Nico looked at him appalled "You know something butt-face? I'm starting to like you less and less."_

 _"Dude, how can you not like McDonalds?" Jason asked him incredulously._

 _"It's the bomb!" Percy agreed._

 _"I guess I just like being healthy and living longer better." Derek shrugged, putting his locker combination._

 _Suddenly, Piper started coughing loudly. I didn't really understand why, but I guess everyone else did, because they either got their phones out or took their distance._

 _"Umm.. What are you guys doing?" I asked them suspiciously._

 _"Nothing!" Leo answered innocently._

 _"Yeah, Annabeth. We're either just checking the time or getting ready for class." Piper said just as innocently, sharing this evil smirk with Nico and Leo._

 _I swear I heard Nico mutter "Payback bitch" before it happened._

 _So Derek opened his locker, and suddenly a lot of condoms started falling out, and when I say a lot I mean a LOT. The whole locker was filler with condoms, and oh wait. A porn magazine. Gross!_

 _I slapped him._ _"Derek.. What the hell is this?!" I shouted at him. "What? Did you just think we were gonna do it at school or something? And really? A porno mag? What the fuck is wrong with you?!_

 _"Babe! I don't know! These aren'T mine!"_

 _Nico picked one up. "This one say extra small... Sounds to me like their yours."_

 _Everyone laughed at that, while Derek became red. "That's not true! I don'T need extra small! I'll have you know-" and this brown substancewas flung out of his locker, right at Derek's head._

 _"What the fuck?!" He cursed, turning around. Big mistake. More of that brown substance was flung at his face. Ew, gross.. Is that poo?! Eww... What the hell is wrong with him?!_

 _"Oh, fuck! What is this shit?" He shouted._

 _"Exactly. Shit" Jason remarked. "That looks like shit."_

 _"Man, and I thought you were stinking up the room before..." Nico quipped._

 _"Really not classy dude, bringing condom, porn and shit to school." Leo scolded. And everyone started laughing. Me? I was just trying to keep myself from vomiting._

 _"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. Get this stuff off of me!" HE demanded. "Now!"_

 _"There is no way in hell, I'm coming close to you shithead." Thalia told him._

 _"Yeah, maybe in the future you should think twice before getting MY cousin in trouble." Nico growled, walking away with everyone else._

 _"Babe?" he asked me._

 _"Yeah... I love you, but there is now in hell I'm doing that. I'm out." I told him._

"Well, you haven't asked me yet." I pointed out.

He stared at me incredulously. "Well, I didn't know I had to. I mean, you're my girlfriend. Doesn't that mean that you're automatically gonna go with me anyway? What's the point in asking you if I already know the answer?"

I just sighed, I love him, but sometimes he really pisses me off. "Never mind." I muttered.

Piper cleared her throat. "Right. Well, I wasn't asking you. I was asking my friends. So, you guys have dates yet?"

"Not yet, I'm still doing my interviews. It's crazy how many girls wanna go with me. But, I guess it's cause I'm the Bad boy supreme." Leo said matter-of-factly.

"Riight, aka, no I do not have a date yet." Piper translated.

"I...'m still working on it." Leo defended himself.

"Huh? Prom? Isn't that like.. two months away? Why are you worrying about that?" Jason asked.

Piper sighed and just shook her head. "You're hopeless.. What about you Nico?"

"I've got a girl in mind." Nico told us mysteriously.

Thalia just shrugged her shoulders. "I might go stag, you know, check out the meat. Leave my options open."

"Hey, where are Frank and Hazel?" Piper asked us.

"Oh, Hazel's tutoring Frank in the library." Grover told her.

"Hey Grover, do you have a date for prom yet?" Piper asked him.

He blushed, made this weird bleating sound and started stuttering. "No! I.. I don't have a … That isn't to say I don't want.. I.. No, I do not have a date to prom yet."

"Does Grover have a little crush?" Piper asked excitedly. "Who is it? Is it Jenny DeMarco? Madison Andrews?"

"Do we know her?" Thalia asked him?

"Guys, leave him alone. A guy is allowed to have his secret." Percy announced, which was sweet of him. Until he came closer to Grover and whispered "So, who is it? You can tell me."

"Percy!" I scolded him.

He just put his hands up. "Whaat? I didn't do anything!"

I just shook my head. Boys.

"Why won't you tell us who it is?" Leo whined. "We're your bro's man, you'Re bro's!"

For a second there I swear I saw Grover glance at Derek before he said "I'm just not comfortable saying anything in a crowded space like here."

Everyone shared a look that I didn't understand before Percy said "Ahh, I got you man, I got you. Save it for tonight, at bro's night in."

"Hey, what about you Percy? Who are you planning to take to prom?" Piper asked him suddenly. I perked up, suddenly really interested I the conversation.

His eyes widened. "Me? I... I don't know yet. I don't know any girls that would wanna go with me anyway so... Yeah."

"Trust me, when I say this: You could ask any girl and I guarantee you she's say yes." Piper winked at him. That bitch! What does she think she's doing, flirting with my Percy like that?! I mean, Percy, just Percy.

He laughed nervously. "Um... I don't think it's that easy."

"Bro, with your looks and cute dimply smile, it's definitely that easy." Leo told him seriously. "You'Re the hot girl, everyone wants to be with you."

"I'm the hot girl?" He asked in amazement.

"You're the hot girl." Jason confirmed, with Nico nodding in agreement.

And then Percy smiled, showing off those dimples of his. He's definitely the hot girl. Wait, what? I think the guys' stupid is rubbing off on me.

"That'S just weird." Derek announced, ruining the moment.

Nico glared at him. "Shut up, Derek. Who asked you?"

"Yeah, you're just jealous you're not the hot girl." Leo accused.

Derek just rolled his eyes and said "Aaand, that's my cue to go. I think I've gotten my daily doses of weird and awkward. You coming babe?"

"No, I think I'm gonna stay." I told him.

He just shrugged. "Your loss." Man, whenever he does that, I really start to wonder why I'm dating him. The moment he left, Hazel and Frank entered and sat down at our table.

"Okay, so who do you have a crush on?" Percy asked Grover.

"Grover has a crush on someone?" Hazel asked surprised.

"Yeah, the question is.. Who?" Leo answered.

Grover blushed and looked away. "Okay, I was hoping to ask Juniper to prom with me." He confessed

"Oh my gods, you guys would make the cutest couple!" Piper squealed.

"Juniper... Nice!" Nico told him.

"You guys, would be awesome together!" Jason told him.

"I like it. I ship you guys." Hazel told him.

"Absolutely. What would their ship name be? Hmm. Oh! How about Gruniper?" Frank wondered.

"Perfect!" Hazel beamed at him.

"Congrats Grover! You should go for it!" I told him.

Percy and Leo clapped him on the back. "Way to go dawg!" Percy congratulated him.

"Go get 'em tiger!" Leo added. "So... When are we gonna meet her?"

Grover waved his arms "Guys, thank you so much, but it's not gonna happen okay? She doesn't even know I exist." He said dejectedly.

Percy and Leo put their arms around him. "Grover..." Leo started.

"We're gonna teach you everything we know about ladies." Percy finished.

"OH! We should do it tonight! Instead of a bro's night IN, it'll be a bro's night OUT." Leo suggested excitedly. "We should go to Rachel Friedman's party!"

"Yes, yes! That is the best idea I have ever heard!" Percy agreed excitedly.

Nico's eyes widened. "We haven't been to a party in what feels like forever. We've gotta go!"

"Hell yeah!" Jason shouted.

"Well, that does sound pretty fun." Frank agreed.

"I don't know..." Grover mumbled.

"Dude, Juniper might be there." Jason sang.

Suddenly Grover perked up. "Never mind, we'Re going."

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Leo told him. "And while we're there we should totally get Percy date for prom!"

"Yea, we should! I love that- Wait, whaat?" Percy asked.

"I think that's a great idea." Nico said, giving him a meaningful look.

Percy shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Darn, I just remembered, I can't come. There was this raccoon and it, uhh, it broke my car so... Yeah, what are you gonna do, right?"

"Dude, you'Re going to that party." Jason told him.

"Yeah, we haven't spent time together all month!" Leo whined. "You were always hanging out with Annabeth."

And then the weirdest thing happened. All of the guys were sort of staring at him with an accusative stare. He squirmed in his seat before relenting "Fine, but I'm not gonna be the designated driver."

"Wait, if you're gonna be helping Percy get a date, you'll need us." Piper told them, pointing to the girls.

"Umm, I think we can help Percy get a date just fine, thank you very much." Jason told her haughtily.

"How did the last date of his go again?" Thalia asked him sweetly.

"..."

"Point taken, you're all coming with. No discussions." Nico announced.

My eyes widened. "Wait, what? I thought it was girls' night in?"

Nico glared at me. "What part of 'No discussions' do you not understand?"

I glared back at him. "I guess, the part where we'Re not part of bro's night out, so we don't HAVE to come with."

Piper gave me the puppy dog eyes. "Please Annabeth? It's for a good cause."

"Okay, getting a guy laid is not a good cause." I told her.

"No, but getting Grover a date to the prom is." Hazel countered.

"Yeah, I mean, let's face it Annie. If Grover goes to that party with just the guys, there's no way he's getting a date with Juniper any time soon. No offense." Thalia said matter-of-factly.

It seemed like Percy was about to argue, until he started thinking and said "Yeah... She's probably right..." With all of the guys muttering their agreements in the background.

I looked at Grover and Piper's pleading faces and I knew I was doomed. I just sighed and said "Fine. I guess we should go. If it's for a good cause."

"Great, it's settled. We're going to a party." Nico shouted.

* * *

 **Here we go, another day another chapter. This one is pretty long, or maybe it's average length now? I don't even know anymore. So... They're going to a party, huh? Nothing ever happens at a party *wink* *wink*. Seriously though, I don't know what'S gonna happen at the party yet... I'm hoping something interesting, that's for sure. Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter? I'd love to hear your thoughts and comment in the reviews, that way I can improve both your reading experience and my writing skills. Personally, I thought it was okay. Although that is coming from a person that spent three hours writing it, so I guess I'm a little biased. I've got a busy, busy week ahead of me, so I probably won't be updating 'till Wednesday, maybe Tuesday if I'm lucky but no promises. I hope you guys don't mind the wait, school is just drowning me in tests and homework. But, you guys shouldn't be bored with that, instead I'm just gonna answer them reviews:**

 **To Fratzy: Thanks dude! I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure Derek will be gone by the end of the school year... Possibly. Who knows?**

 **To Guest: Haha, well I can't speak for future me, but I'm definitely not planning on stopping any time soon. I'm glad you like my writing :) And it depends, when is sooner?**

 **To BECKENDORK: I'm glad! I hate it when celebrity's aren't nice to their fans. I mean, I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. And holy shit you meat Zendaya? Dude, tell me everything (because I actually know who that is!)! I'm glad you liked the chapter, I try. And there's a cliffhanger, because I'm evil. Plain and simple, I love seeing people suffer and fall down cliffs. It's why there's a cliffhanger right now too. *evil laughter***

 **To JamieValdez: Maybe they will, maybe they won't (is that good?). And I'll try dude, I'll try. I mean, I like to think that no matter how late this story has kept me up and true me when I say VERY VERY VERY late), no matter how pissed this story makes me, no matter how stressed it makes me, no matter how many times it has made me want to pull al of my fricken hair out, I like to think that I'm gonna finish it. Cause this story, it's my baby. It sucks and it's annoying, but it's mine. And I owe it to this story, to you guys, to myself, to atleast give this story the ending it deserves (when the time comes that is). As for Hazel, I just had this thought 'What if... Hazel is actually this evil genius? What if she's got a dirtier mind than Thalia and Piper? Because let's face it, I look innocent as hell, but I probably have one of the dirtiest minds on earth.**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: Aww, Thanks! I always get excited seeing your review :)**

 **To Thrawn13: Thanks dude! And boom, there you go now you know.**

 **To another Guest: Great suggestion dude, I'll definitely take that into consideration, so thank you very much!**

 **To Natman717: Aww, sorry man. didn't mean to stop you from studying... If it helps, I know the feeling! I'm glad you like the story though :)**

 **To Starbreaker195: Aw, come on. It wasn't THAT ominous... Nice play on words sir, nice play on words. And I understand that, I mean 6000 words! That's not nothing! I'd have seriously considered just... killing someone or something (okay, probably not as drastic as that, but you know what I mean). Thanks for the flowers! I appreciate it, they were nice when I looked them up. I now underline the day I'm gonna be updating, so that if you (or any reader really) don't want to read my whole autobiography, all you'd have to do was look for the underlined word and boom: Update date. I'm glad you liked the rambling, I feel like I've been rambling a lot lately but I don't really know why. Sorry not sorry for your reactions :) And at first I was planning on skipping three months, but I though to myself: Would Percy really actually be able to stay away from Annabeth, just like that? No! (At least, I don't think so. I mean, let's face it: Percy is hella stubborn. So of course he isn't just gonna stop hanging out with Annabeth just like that. He's gotta have a good reason and he's gotta see it for himself.) So what I'm gonna do here, is make Percy realise and see that he's gotta stay away from Annabeth if he truly wants to move on somehow. I'm still working out the details.**

 **To yet another Guest: Dude, I know! You think I was joking?! (Well... Okay, in the beginningI was, because I had no idea that chin dimples existed, that was literally the first thing that came in my mind and, me being me was just like "Eh, what the hell! Let's add it to the story!") But after I looked it up, I knew I was right! Chin dimples are hella weird to me (no offence to anyone that has one, you're still beautiful to me!). Thanks for your view on chin dimples, it enlightened me.**

 **To Kale97: I'm really happy I could make you laugh! I loved writing the Hazel part. I based it a little on my own mind. And seriously, you're not alone. In class, I always hear something that could be dirty (with the right mind) before everyone else. And it's so funny, cause everyone thinks I'm like super innocent, even though I'm far from it! That was a great idea, but I sort of had something else planned for that scene. Sleep well! :)**

 **To Guardian's Dragon: Thanks dude!**

 **To PoppyOhare: Voila**

 **To Sonofmagic26: I'm glad you think yo. I'd like to think that I improve with each passing chapter.**

 **Aaaaaaaaaaand that seems to be all of them. To all the people that have reviewed so far, are reviewing, or will be reviewing: Thank you, so much! I want you to know that I really really really appreciate the feedback. It helps me grow, as a writer and helps me know what you guys want to see, don't want to see, like, dislike, ... It just teaches me a lot and it helps me stay motivated, so from the bottom of my heart: Thank you. That's... Pretty much it. So good night/day/evening/morning/midday/brunch/lunch/dinner/whatever-word-you-want-after-good and take care! I'll see you in the next one!**

 **Joy**


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or its characters**

 **Percy's POV  
** "Remind me why I agreed to come here again." I shouted. The party was in full swing, drinks were flowing, the music was pumping aaaand I was standing here staring at Derek and Annabeth dance.

"To help Grover get a date." Nico reminded me.

"And you." Leo added.

I looked over at Grover who was talking to Juniper, then looked back at Nico and said "Yeaah, it doesn't look like he really needs our help."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What?" And when he looked over at them his eyes widened. "Holy shit! Look at him! He's a natural!"

Leo stared and exclaimed "Damn... He got them skillz brah. He must've been using my moves."

"Okay, how much have you had to drink?" I asked him seriously, because frat Leo equals drunk-set-things-on-fire-cause-it's-pretty Leo, and I do not want to go to jail... Again.

"Psh. Like a sip? Maybe two? Possibly three." Leo answered, swaying on his feet.

"Aka four glasses." Nico translated.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Okay, I'm gonna get as far away from him as possible before he starts lighting stuff up, while singing the chorus 'My songs know what you did in the dark'."

"Wait! You can't leave me on Leo-duty!" Nico complained, but I already left.

-Line Break-

So after having walked around the party for the past hour, I gotta say: I am not impressed. Maybe it's because I've already been to a party, maybe it's because the inner-geek in me really wanted to have a superhero marathon or maybe it's because all my friends seem to have disappeared, but I was not having a great time.

I was currently outside smoking, when the last person I wanted to see sat beside me.

"Hey Perce, can we talk?" Derek asked. Shit, you think it's too late to make a run for it?

"Um.. Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"I'm sorry." He said out of the blue.

"Huh? For what?" I asked him confusedly.

He ran his hand through his hair and answered "Well, I must've done something wrong, because you and your friends all seem to hate me, which sucks because I really wanted to get along with all of you for Annabeth. Especially with you, I like you and Annabeth really likes you. So I've been racking my brains all month, trying to figure out what I could've possibly done to.. to offend you guys, but I've got nothing. So whatever it is that I've done to warrant such a... reaction from you guys... I'm sorry. But please, could you just tell me what I did wrong so I can start making it up to you guys?"

Aaand now I felt bad. I mean, Derek really wasn't a bad guy. He's just a guy, who's in love with a girl. That's it. I treated him like dirt, when he was always nice to me. I mean, sure he was kind of really annoying but did he really deserved to be treated like that? I always thought I'd be the kind of person to stop bullies after having been bullied as a kid, and now look at me. I've become the very thing I despised. Oh my gods. I have to stay away from Annabeth. Otherwise, I'm just gonna turn into another bully, I'm gonna become the one thing I vowed never to become.

"Derek, don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. You just came at a bad time. I've been in a really bad mood and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

His eyes widened. "What?"

"Look man, it's just that I'm in love with this girl and she'll never love me back. It's not your fault. I've been a class-a jerk, and you've been nothing but nice, if not a little annoying." Shit. Maybe I shouldn't have had that glass of beer, it was making me a little... too honest.

"Wow.. Okay.. I.. actually get that a lot. I'll try to tone down my annoyingness. And for what it's worth Perce, any girl not willing to love you, isn't worth it. I think any girl would be lucky to have a prize catch like you."

I smiled and took a drag. "And umm, about the others... They were just supporting me. I'll talk to them. It's the least I could do after the way I treated you."

He beamed. "Really? Because that would be great! Really great! I really want to get along with you guys, maybe then things between me and Annabeth will go back to normal" He muttered the last part, but I still heard it.

I was about to ask what was wrong, but... it wasn't any of my business. If I want to avoid becoming just another jerk, and actually move on from Annabeth, I have to stop seeing her as much as possible. No exceptions this time. This time, I'm serious.

After an awkward moment of silence, Derek stood up, clapped me on the back and said "Good talk Perce, good talk. We should hang out more."

I nodded my head, for once serious. "Yeah, we really should. I'll text you, aight?"

He beamed at me. "That'd be great!"

I just smiled at him, feeling a lot better now. More at peace, if you will. Annabeth is dating a great guy. She'll be fine without me. Maybe now, I can finally say with full conviction that I will move on from Annabeth. I was left alone with my thoughts and musings.

-Line Break-

Well... it turns out that that one moment of self-reflection wasn't meant to last long, because not long after Derek left, Piper came out, just took the cigaret right out of my hand, took a long drag and then just threw it on the ground and stepped on it.. I don't know why it shocked me, but I guess I never really thought that Piper smoked. I mean, I guess it makes sense, but I just never really thought about it.

"You're coming with me, Aqua-Boy." She said while she was dragging me.

"Okay, first and for all, rude. Very very rude. Second and for all, it's AquaMAN not AquaBOY." I corrected her.

"Meh, come back to me when you're a man, aqua-boy." was her answer. Well, okay then. Can't argue with that.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the kitchen."

"Ookay... Follow up question: Why are you taking me to the kitchen?"

"To get you drunk." She said as if it was obvious. "Less asking, more drinking."

I looked at the eight shots filled with an assortment of colored liquids. "Aw, hell to no. There is no way I'm taking eight shots, filled with different kinds of alcohol. Nuh-uh. No way!"

And that's all I remember.

 **Nico's POV**

"Wait. You can't leave me on Leo-duty!" I complained, but I guess it fell on deaf ears... Bastard.

I sighed and turned to look at a very sober looking Leo. What?

"Is he gone?" Leo asked me.

"Uhh.. yeah. Aren't you drunk?"

"Psh. Puhlease, I am not getting drunk. Not tonight bro, not tonight. We've got too much to do."

"What're you talking about?"

"I'm talking about getting my main man Percy a date to prom. And convincing him not to see annabeth anymore, because let's face it. It's gotta stop, and you know it. If he keeps hanging out with her like that, he'll never get over her. And maybe if we have time, we can find you a date."

"Wait, why did you pretend to be drunk?"

Leo slapped his face and muttered Spanish curse words under his breath. What? I really don't get what I did wrong.

"To get rid of Percy!" Leo exploded.

"Okay, but don't we need Percy to get him a date?"

He just shook his head and sighed. "Oh dios mio... Okay, at the moment Percy is so in love with Annabeth, he won't even consider looking at another girl, let alone talking to one. So what we'Re gonna do, is some groundwork for him. You'll chat him up to the ladies, because you are the best at that, maybe tell them about that time he saved a kitten, the ladies will want to meet him and that's when we introduce them to Percy."

"But... How? Maybe Percy won't be there when the want to meet him."

"That's why we'Re with two!"

"Ohh... Okay, that's really smart. Props to you man."

Leo just sighed. "You know, this is exactly why I'm his wingman."

I shrugged. "Eh, what can I say? I prefer to fly solo."

Leo rolled his eyes. "All right solo man, let's see how you wing it."

-Line Break-

She slapped me. So I was chatting Percy up to this girl, Lexi, and everything seemed to be going great. But ten she asked me "Well, if Percy is so great, then why isn't he here right now?"

Apparently "Because he's a busy guy! He can't just come and talk to any old person, you know! He's got better things to do! How about you give me your number, and he'll text you when he can?" wasn't the right answer. Huh. Who knew?

Leo came up to me, shaking his head. "How are you so bad at this?! What happened? You used to be great at this!"

I shrugged my shoulders helplessly. "I guess it's been a while." I admitted sheepishly.

Leo groaned and rubbed his face. "Okay, new plan. Spin the bottle. Percy's a good kisser, right?"

I widened ma eyes. "Don't look at me dude, I don't know."

"Okay, okay, okay... I'll fix this. Oh, hey Piper!" He shouted.

She came over and said "What's up?"

"We'Re gonna play spin the bottle, so I was wondering if you could go get Percy?" He asked her.

And then she got this look of understanding, which was weird because there was nothing to understand. "Oh.. I got it. You want me to... prepare him for the game?"

I got confused, and so did Leo. "Umm... Yeah, okay sure. Whatever you want to call it." He answered.

She saluted us and said "Roger that. Where will I bring him?"

"Living room." I answered.

And then she walked away, looking for Percy.

"I'll go get a bottle and get thing ready. You should go gather up the a couple of people and bring them to the living room. Oh, and don't forget the rest of the group." Leo instructed.

"Will do!"

 **Thalia's POV**

I forgot how boring parties were. I mean, yeah sure, there's music, food and drinks, but they're not as fun as they used to be. Maybe it's because I have matured as I got older, maybe it's because I'm not single anymore, or maybe it's because this party sucked.

I sighed, drinking my beer. "This party sucks." So far, I've been sitting on the couch with Piper in the living room after having seen Grover hit off with Juniper.

Annabeth just joined us and nodded. "Yeah, we could've been at your place watching Teen Wolf, but we just had to come here. And it's not like grover even needed our help. It's obvious Juniper likes him back."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, sorry we don't know everything like you do."

She shruged her shoulders. "I feel for you regular mortals, so unobservant."

Piper snorted. "Look who's talking."

Annabeth looked offended. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Piper just smiled. "You're a smart girl, you'll figure it out. I'm gonna go get a beer." And then she stood up and walked away.

"What did she mean by that?" Annabeth asked me after a moment of silence.

I shrugged my shoulders. "for a smart girl, you are pretty stupid."

"What?!"

"Nothing personal, you're just really clueless."

"I am not!"

"If you say so..."

"I'm not! What are you talking about?"

"Forget I said anything."

"I will not-"

"Great, you guys are already here! Thalia, I'll need this." Leo interrupted us, grabbing my bottle of beer and drinking it. Rude.

"Dude, what are you doing?" I asked him with a glare.

"Sorry sweet pea, but I need this bottle." He answered with a burp. Gross.

"For what?" Annabeth asked him warily, and she's got a reason to. Leo had this mad glint in his eyes, which usually meant trouble.

"I want to play a game."

* * *

 **So, I was in my bed ready to go to sleep after a long gruelling and exhausting day at school, when I shot up and** **remembered 'Shit! I was supposed to post a new chapter today!'. And then this short chapter was born. So, I apologise if it isn'T as good or as long as you hoped it to be, I honestly completely forgot I eve wrote fan fiction because of school. I promise to try not doing that again in the future. Looking at my schedule, I will probably update this story on Friday to make it up to you guys (tomorrow if I can). I'll also be updating my other story either tomorrow or Friday, I'm sorry about that guys :( Be sure to tell me what you liked or didn't like in this chapter, I always love reading that. I swear every time I have to write an author's note, I forget what to put here, so I'm just gonna answer some reviews...**

 **To Guest: Umm.. No, I don't think they're together. That was just to mess with Percy's head that one time. But, I mean they could be if you wanted I guess... And thank you for that, I'll try to get Annabeth back into character! I appreciate it.**

 **To SilverAgent: Thank you for you review! And yes, I do think you are right. What they were doing was a bit much, and I'm really glad you noticed that. I needed this to happen, to have an actual reason for Percy to stay away from Annabeth and just find himself, you know? I really appreciate you review, and hope you'll keep reading the story. Take care!**

 **To BECKENDORK: Sorry bro. I gotta live up to my summary, ya know? You lucky B*****D! I hope you never sell that book. Ever. Otherwise, I will come haunt you in your dreams. And trust me, you don't want that. Nah just kidding, I'm too lazy for that. But seriously though, I'm glad she isn't like some stuck up celebrity, you know. Good for you dude! May you meet more celebrities and get more books signed by them. (and you know, give some of them to me *wink* *wink*)**

 **To another Guest: You request has been taking into consideration. Thanks, I appreciate the ideas.**

 **To JamieValdez: Thank you, I try, I try. And hey, each their own humour, I'm not here to judge. I'm glad you like puns! I absolutely LOVE them, I just think they're funny.**

 **To PoppyOhare: Done.**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: AND IT STILL CONTINUES!**

 **To GuestCo: I will never get tired of that pun. And I'm sorry man, but I've been hating on Derek a lot, but I can't do that. If Percy were ever to confess, I'd want him to be sober, and to know what he's doing.**

 **To Riptide013: Thank you! I love you too! (not in a weird way or anything, just to make things clear here.)**

 **To Thrawn13: Thanks man!**

 **To son of hades1: I freaking love that pun. And thank you! You're awesome!**

 **To yet another Guest: We'll see dude, we'll see ;)**

 **To Pelaito: Sorry man, but I've got a confession... I freaking love puns. Not like, LOVE. If I could, I'd put them in every chapter, but I'm not that witty, so yeah... If you don't like that, then I'm sorry dude, but it's who I am.**

 **To Kale97: I had too much fun writing those puns! And thank you for believing in me. Sorry that I might've messed it up though. I hope to do better next chapter. A lot better.**

 **To this one Guest: Yeah, I feel ya homie. And that's not a bad idea, not a bad idea at all... Hmmm... I'll think about it.**

 **To Fratzy: Thank you, thank you, thank you very much! I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing and hope for the best, just like with life.**

 **To Emma Chase-Hunter of Artemis: Thank you! I honestly just write whatever comes in my head, I don't even think about whether it'll be funny or not,because in my opinion I'm not a funny person. That's why I didn't put this story under humour, too much pressure to be funny ya know? But I'm glad you like the story!**

 **Aaaaand that's all of them! Great, I'm gonna fall asleep any second now, so have a good whatever-time-it-is-wherever-you-wonderful-readers-live/are and take care! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Joy**


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters, Rick Riordan does**

 **Percy's POV  
** I woke up, with yet another pounding headache and absolutely no recollection of the night before after those 8 fateful shots. What else is new, amiright? Should i just assume that I will wake up every morning with a hangover from now on? I mean, this is getting ridiculous. There was water beside my bed with some aspirin. Sweet.

I decided to pretty much just spend the whole day in my bed, and of course my body just had to be a traitor.. I had to pee. Badly.

I groaned, but went to the toilet anyway, cause well... it's not like I had much choice. After having done my business, I rubbed my eyes and felt a spike of pain shooting through my right arm. Huh. That was weird. I opened my eyes to get a closer look and I think I just got a heart attack.

Oh. My. Gods! My mom's gonna kill me... I got a tattoo. Oh shit. What the hell happened last night?! Before I could start to go full panic mode, the guys burst through the door holding various objects in their hands. Wait. What?

"Percy! What's the matter? I heard a little girl scream!" Jason announced groggily, holding a shoe in his left hand.

"Yeah? Where's the bad guy? Imma give him a piece of my mind! No one messes with a little girl on my watch!" Leo shouted, waving a lamp around.

"Guys, I'm fine!" I tried to reassure them, without them finding out that I got a tattoo.

"No, I'm pretty sure I heard a girl screaming in here." Frank told me, trying to look menacing whilst holding a teddy bear. All in all, he was doing a pretty good job, considering.

"Me too." Grover added, holding up a plant. Figures.

"Yeah, plus if you're so fine, then why are you trying to hide your right arm?" Nico pointed out, while actually pointing at my arm with a pineapple. Okaay then.. Where the hell did he get that pineapple?

Fuck. There's no getting out of this, is there? I sighed and showed them my arm, with the SPQR tattoo and the symbol for Neptune.

If it weren't for the situation at hand, I would've laughed at their facial expressions. They were all identical, wide eyes and mouths opened. I think a fly actually flew into Leo's mouth. That sure got him out of his daze.

"Dude..." He started incredulously, "that is one sick tattoo!"

I scratched behind my neck and said sheepishly "Thanks... But uh.. What the hell happened last night?! I don't remember anything after Piper made me do 8 shots."

That got everyone else out of their daze. Everyone got a shocked expression on their faces. It was kinda creepy, it was like they all practiced it or something.

"You don't remember anything? Nothing at all?" Nico asked incredulously.

"Umm.. Nope, nothing at all." I answered back uneasily. "Why? Did something happen that I should know about?"

"Well, except for the fact that you got a tattoo?" Nico said nervously.

They all shared a look, and then Grover said "Maybe we should talk about this in the living room."

"Ooh, or after we got some breakfast cause I'm starving!" Leo proposed.

"Great idea!" Nico agreed.

"You guys are freaking me out." I told them, but it fell on deaf ears. Sigh. At this rate I'll never find out what happened. Oh well, I could use some breakfast right now. "Shotgun!" I shouted, receiving several groans in return. Yes!

 **Nico's POV  
** "Guys... what the hell are we gonna do?" I wondered out loud.

"Well... Isn't it obvious? We're gonna get breakfast, duh. Frank, Percy and Grover are following us in the other car." Leo answered. Jason whacked him in the head.

"Idiot. He means what are we gonna do with Percy." Jason told him, getting an 'oh' in return.

"Thank you Jason. What are we gonna tell him? I'm not even 100% sure what happened last night." I though out loud. 'Or how it al went to shit so fast' I added in my head..

"I know what you mean... I can't even believe what I do remember." Jason agreed.

"It is pretty insane." Leo added. "I mean who would've thought that one little game would lead to all of... this."

"And Percy doesn't remember a single thing. It's a mess." I worried out loud, starting to feel the tears well up. No. Now is not the time for my own drama. I'm glad no one saw the tears.

"It'll be fine." Jason tried to reassure no one in particular. "I mean, we just have to avoid the girls at all cost today, just until we've got everything sorted out. Shouldn't be too hard... Right?"

No one was convinced, least of all me.

-Line Break-

We were sitting in a booth at McDonalds, eating our breakfast in uncomfortable silence, until Percy couldn't stand it anymore.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Come on guys! What exactly happened last night? It must've been something big, because we're never quiet, especially when we're all together!" He exploded.

We all shared an uneasy glance, wondering how we should start this story.

"So... You don't remember anything? Anything at all?" Grover asked him carefully.

Percy furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes, a sign that he's thinking really hard. "Well.. I guess if I try really hard, I remember something, a game.. Spin the bottle maybe?"

"Yes! We did play that game, that was my idea!" Leo announced proudly.

"Anything else? Maybe a certain something, like kissing anyone in particular?" Frank asked him.

"No... wait, now that you mention it.. I remember the bottle landing on Annabeth at one point.. Oh gods... Did I.. I mean, did we...?" Percy started panicking, apparently not being able to finish that sentence.

"Dude, relax. You and Annabeth didn't kiss." Leo reassured him.

"Oh, thank gods." Percy sounded relieved.

"I mean, don't get me wrong the bottle did land on her, but you refused to kiss her." Leo added. "She got pretty mad."

Percy's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Yeah, you should've seen her face!" Leo continued, despite my subtle gestures for him to stop. "Man, she was so pissed, I think she slapped you and then used some choice words that even I wouldn't repeat. I think-Ow! What the hell Nico?!" He finally stopped after being kicked in the shins.

"Annabeth..hates me?" Percy wonder out loud, a devastated look masking his features.

"No! She doesn't hate you." Jason tried to reassure him. "You're just not really her favorite person right now."

"Yeah, considering you did make out with her friend." Frank muttered quietly, but everyone heard him.

"I did what, with who?!" Percy panicked.

I shot Frank a dirty look "Dude, seriously? This was not how he was supposed to find out!"

Frank had the decency to look apologetic "Sorry, I didn't realize I said it out loud."

"What the hell happened last night?! And no bull shit! I want the whole story!" Percy exploded.

"Well... that's gonna be pretty hard. We don't quite have all of the pieces.." Leo muttered sheepishly.

"Yeah.. We kinda need the girls for the whole story, and... well.. I'm not sure you're their favorite person right now.." I told him earnestly.

"But I need to know!" Percy insisted.

"Well, actually I did hear Friedman recorded the whole party."Derek announced.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Leo asked him, not in a menacing way, but more like confused.

"I was here with Annabeth, but she had to leave suddenly, something about an emergency with the girls." He explained.

We all turned to see Percy's reaction, but he seemed too preoccupied with the ambiguity of his actions the night before, that he probably didn't even register Derek's words exactly.

"Okaay, so what was this about Nicole recording the party?" Jason asked him, sharing a worried glance with me.

"Well, apparently she wanted to record the 'Party of the Year' to show her sister that she can too throw a legendary party."

Percy's eyes widened"What are we waiting for? Let's go already!"

I looked at my half-eaten breakfast and sighed. "Alright, let's go."

"Wait. Is he coming with us?" Jason asked, pointing a finger to Derek.

"Aw, lay off him guys." Percy said earnestly, putting an arm around him. "He's pretty cool, and he didn't do nothing."

We all shared a look, and then shrugged out shoulders. "If you say so Perce. Let's go." I said.

 **Thalia's POV  
** I woke up groggily, but surprisingly without a hangover. Huh, I think that's the first time I've ever been to a party without waking up with a hangover the next day. Weird... I heard Piper groan beside me, well I guess I can't say the same for her, hehe..

"Thalia.." She groaned. "Remind me to never, ever drink again. I'm serious this time."

Hazel, laughed, despite seemingly having a hangover herself. "Puhlease, we both know that whenever you say that, you end up drinking more than ever that same day." And then they both started groaning again.

Piper shook her head. "Not this time. This time I mean it."

I rolled my eyes. "You say that every time though."

"Ugh." Was her response. "What's got you all grouchy this morning? You don't seem to have a hangover."

I started blinking hard to prevent the tears from falling out, thinking of the night before and what happened. No. He doesn't deserve my tears. I'm done crying, least of all because of boys.

"Nothing. I'm gonna go and make the hangover cure for you guys." I announced coldly.

They both started groaning. "Man, I wish Nico could've made a better tasting hangover cure." Hazel complained.

I scowled. "Yeah.. Well he didn't. Deal with it."

I walked away, hearing Piper ask Hazel "Okay, what is her deal? What happened last night?"

I just scowled even harder thinking about it, not being able to stop the tears from falling out this time..

FLASHBACK

" _Why wouldn't you kiss me?" I asked Nico in an empty closet._

 _He looked around nervously. "What.. uh, what're you talking about Thals?"_

I glared at him. "You know damn well what I'm talking about Di Angelo, that bottle landed on me and me alone! Now answer me, why did you refuse to kiss me?"

"You know me, I'm not that big on public display.. Plus, it's just a game. Why are you getting so upset about it?" He tried to reason.

 _I sighed. "It's not just that, Nico. I'm tired of hiding our relationship.. Why are we still hiding it?"_

His eyes widened. "Wow... You really wanna have this conversation? Right here? Now?"

 _I hesitated before answering "Yes! I want answers, goddamnit. Why are we still hiding our relationship?"_

"I thought you liked it like that!" He said defensively.

" _I did... at first. I was new and exciting. It was like our little secret. But now, I don't know, it feels different. I'm different. It feels like you're embarrassed to be me with me or something."_

 _His eyes widened at that. "No! Of course not! I'd never be embarrassed to be with you! You're really awesome!"_

" _Then what is it? What's stopping us from going public with our relationship?" I asked him earnestly._

" _I just don't like people prying in my business, okay? I don't see why we have to announce our relationship in public anyway! I mean, everything's great right now! Why does it have to change?"_

 _I shook my head. "You just don't get it, do you? You know what, since we're not publicly in a relationship, then maybe I should go with someone else to the prom."_

 _He looked like I actually slapped him. And then he scowled. "You know what? Maybe you should. I know I'll be going with someone else!"_

"Fine!" I shouted.

" _Fine!" He shouted back._

 _We both walked away from the closet, feeling worse than ever._

END FLASHBACK

I shook my head. Whatever, it's not my problem. He wants to be a child? Fine, let him be one then. I don't care. Nico Di Angelo can choke on a big mac for all I care.

-Line Break-

"Man, I am never gonna get used to this taste." Piper complained.

"You said it sister." Hazel agreed.

I just rolled my eyes. "If you hens are finished, we've got business to discuss."

"We do?" Piper asked.

I sighed. "Yes! We've got to figure out what the hell happened last night! I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to know what the hell happened! Especially, what happened between you and a certain someone." I said, giving Piper a pointed look.

And then the most amazing thing happened, Piper blushed. You read that right! The Piper McLean actually blushed!

"Oh my gods! Are you blushing?!" Hazel exclaimed.

Her blush just became fiercer."What?! No! I don't blush!"

"I don't know, I think those two apples on your cheeks tell a different story." Hazel teased.

"Shut up! Nothing special happened last night!" Piper argued.

I shared a look with Hazel, cause we both know that that's a lie.

"Okay, if nothing happened, then you wouldn't mind if we watched the video, right?" I proposed with a shit-eating grin.

Piper's eyes widened."There's a..video? What? What video?"

Hazel examined her nails while talking. "Oh, nothing special. It's just that Rachel Friedman videotaped her party, so she could show off the greatest party of the year, nothing big. But hey, it's not like you care, right? I mean, nothing happened."

Piper started sweating. "Right.. I don't care. Sure, let's go watch that video. But... We can't! Annabeth's not here. Darn it, such a shame! Oh well, guess we can't go"

I just gave her a triumphant look. "Don't worry about it, I'll call her. I'm sure she'd love to tag along."

"NO! I mean, we shouldn't bother her. She's probably still asleep, or something." Piper tried to reason.

"That's not what her snap story says." Hazel pointed out.

"...Fuck." Piper muttered quietly.

"This'll be fun." I said excitedly, grabbing my phone.

* * *

 **Hey guys... Long time no see *laughs nervously*... Normally I wouldn't bother you all with my personal life, but I guess I do owe you guys an explanation. (If however you're not interested, which is totally cool, just go on to the next paragraph). I had a small skating accident, nothing too bad, I was with some friends and they convinced me to try skating out. I was like 'Sure why not?' but before I knew it I was going down hill on a tiny penny board. Seeing as how I did not have any prior experience, I fell on my face, more specifically my right eye. I went to the hospital, and the doctor said I wasn't allowed to exhaust that eye for 2 weeks until the swelling was gone. That meant I wasn't allowed to read too long, I wasn't allowed to go on my laptop or watch tv either. That sucked, but I healed. My parents were pretty adamant about the no laptop rule, so I couldn't even let you guys know and for that I really am sorry. I thought that once my eye healed, I could finally get back on track with my story, but then tragedy struck. The brother of a good friend of mine committed suicide. That put a damper on things, that's for sure. I had to be there for her as moral support, but I also lost my motivation. I stopped doing all of the things I loved and I pretty much just studied for my exams. It's only recently that I started reading again, and writing. I'm gonna be honest, if it were up to me, I probably would have given up on this story just because I lost all motivation and all of my ideas, but... I promised you guys, all of you, that I would finish this story, and dammit I want to keep that promise, I owe it to you all. This is my responsibility, and mine alone. I'm so so sorry that I stopped writing, I really hope you guys can forgive me. Here's my snap: _ayeee_celina_ . That way, if you want to reach me, you can, and since I don't post much, I'll stay pretty much anonymous. Honestly, I only got snapchat to keep up with my friends that don't have facebook.**

 **I'm gonna try my best to update, and to make sure that the content is up to par with my previous chapters. It took everything I got to write this chapter, and I'm gonna be honest, I am pretty disappointed with it. I dunno, it feels like something is missing, but I know I have to get back into my groove. I hope you guys'll bear with me, and I swear I will do my best to finish this story to the best of my ability. Now, for the update schedule, I'm gonna do my best to update every Friday just like before and there is a chance that I could update earlier, but I wouldn't count on it too much. I'm a little rusty, and I'm not 100% sure where I was going with this story, so I'm gonna have to brainstorm. That, and I will be on vacation in the Philippines, so I can't guarantee that I will be able to update every single Friday, but I will try to.**

 **Now, as for my other story (Defying Nature) I'm gonna have to put that on hold.. I don't want to, but it's gonna take everything I got to finish this story, I honestly don't know how I'll be able to muster up any creative energy to spit out a new chapter every week for a story of that magnitude. Even before all of this shit happened, I had troubles with that story, just because it has so much potential that I couldn't even comprehend. I do plan on picking that story up, because I'm really excited with the possibilities of that story, but for now I've got to focus on finishing this story. I hope you can all understand that. And hey, who knows, maybe one day I'll be inspired to write another chapter for Defying Nature. I mean, right now I'm fresh out of ideas, but you never know.. I'd love to hear some of yours, or you know, just what you thought of this chapter. Well, I guess I'm gonna answer some of the reviews now. This'll be fun...**

 **To fthorne333: I do cliffhangers, cause it keeps people HOOKED (see what I did there? lol) on the story. Thanks for your suggestion, honestly you're not the first person to ask me, so I will take it into consideration. No promises though, gotta keep a little mystery here ;D I am so sorry for the wait, you have my deepest apologies.**

 **To Duckayh: Aight, I'll think about it, that'S for sure ;)**

 **To Thrawn13: Why wouldn't she be at a party with her boyfriend? XD And yeah, Derek really isn't a bad guy. Percy was kind of acting like a bully, and it would be way too OOC, even in an au, for Percy to be a bully. I try to keep the characters as in character as I can in this story. And I'm so so so sorry for the long wait, truly nothing can excuse my behaviour. I hope you can forgive me, and I want to let you know how much it means to me that you believe in me. I'll try not to let you down again and I definitely will do my best to make sure you don't die.**

 **To Kale97: Aww, thank you! Honestly, I appreciate everything you've done for me so far, and I truly am sorry for the long wait. Nothing can excuse my behaviour, and I hope you can forgive me.. I'm gonna do my best to make the coming chapters as dramatic as possible, because I guess these past few chapters have been a little... mellow. Thank you for your opinion. I've got big plans for Percy and Annabeth which is why I had to write Percy's thoughts like that, but I suppose I could add more moments of these two..**

 **To BECKENDORK: Thank you! And good dude, don't! I hope everything went well with your essay. Sorry for the long wait :/**

 **To son of hades1: Thank you! Uhh.. sorry for the long wait, hehe *laughs nervously* I'll do my best to make sure you won't have to wait this long for the next one.**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: I**

 **To UsernameKF: Thanks, I myself was shocked with the amount of words I have already written. I'm sorry I broke the schedule, I'm gonna do my best to get back on track.**

 **To Fratzy: Thanks man, I hate writing short chapters though, I don't really know why, I just prefer writing longer ones but sometimes I have no choice. You and I both brother, I'm just as excited to know how the game play out. Next chapter's gonna be fun, that's for sure. We finally get some answers.**

 **To Toby4138: Hehe, yeah he wasn't thinking. But, he'll definitely see what his actions leads to next chapter. I might even smack him, just for you ;)**

 **To Natman717: Yeah, it will...**

 **To PoppyOhare: You got it!**

 **To JamieValdez: Hehe..*Looks around nervously* Hey buddy! How's it going? You been working out? Cause you're looking good these days! I've been suuuper busy, so yeah... Jk, but seriously dude, I am so sorry for the long wait. I feel absolutely awful for making you wait this long for this measly chapter. But trust me, I haven't quit just yet! I did say that I was gonna finish this story, and dammit! I plan on doing just that, no matter how long it takes! Sooo... No need to sick your tiger on me, that's for sure *laughs nervously***

 **To Tori Chase: Hey, you know what they say... Bad choices, make great stories! Which, you know, I'm doing my best to write...hehe... And thank you for your opinion, I honestly didn't notice it until now, but he does seem a little like Luke in the books. Huh, how about that. Oh, and since you asked, beer tastes absolutely awful in my opinion. It's kinda bitter and salty, if that even makes sense. I'd say if you had to drink beer, go for Kriek. Tastes waaay better in my opinion. But for real, don't drink! It's bad for you. (Jk, I'm not gonna tell you what to do.. Do what you want, just be responsible about it.)**

 **To Starbreaker195: Hey, it's no problem man. Sorry for making you wait this long for this chapter. It sucks, cause I really prided myself on my updating schedule... :/ I'm sorry life's been kicking you in the ass, I hope everything's going better now. I'll see what I'm gonna do next chapter, I mean, on the one hand I don't want to have too many cliches in this story and I like the idea of being a little unpredictable (that's why I started writing this story; to make Percy's love interest a little bit more unpredictable) , but on the other hand I want to give the people what they want. It's a fine line that I find myself constantly breaking. I'll talk to Percy about his smoking habit, don't you worry :)**

 **To allstaar: You're probably right, but it's gonna be fun, that's for sure. And I will take your opinion into heavy consideration, after all, I gotta give the people what they want. Don't worry about it man, I don't expect you, or anyone really, to review every single one of my chapters. I understand that life can get in the way sometimes (trust me, i do), so I'm not gonna get all butthurt about it if some of you happen to forget to review one of my chapters. I don't want you guys to review because you feel like you have to. I'm a big girl, I'll survive :) I hope life's treating you a little better though.**

 **To InfernalHorror: Here ya go ;)**

 **To Guest: Hey, sorry for the long wait :/**

 **To Baywatch17: Here you go, sorry for making you wait :(  
**

 **To GuestCo: Hey, here you go. Sorry for killing you guys in any way :/**

 **To chrisie198920: There you go, sorry for the loooong wait :(**

 **To other Guest: Hey, you weren't being rude. You were being reasonable, I'm sorry for making you wait this long.**

 **To snowpheobe: Hey, I'm so so so so sorry for making you wait this long.. I promise to update sooner from now on!**

 **To RoyalFox89: Hey, I'm glad you like the story. That means the world to me, honestly. And I'm glad you like my sense of humor, I see you're one of my peeps!**

 **To ILoveLeo: Omg, I don't want you to die! I'm sorry for making you wait this long, I hope you're not dead yet :/**

 **To LostKingGaming: I am sooooo sooo sorry for making you wait THIS long. Truly there is no viable excuse for my actions, or in this case my inactions?, and I hope you can forgive me :(**

 **To VCRx: Yeah, I'm not a big fan of them too.. You one of those Riverdale fans instead? Cause I know I am. Sorry for making you wait long for this chapter, man :(**

 **To yet another Guest: Hey, sorry for the long wait :(**

 **To Pregnantnun227: Sorry for disappointing you good sir. I appreciate the compliment, it does mean a lot to me. I'd like to think it improved, but it's different when someone else says it. It's a lot more believable. I mean, I do sometimes want to get some parts over with, and I will not lie, I am looking forward to writing some parts more than others, but I know that if I skip these 'boring' parts, that the story wouldn't make much sense. I'm just trying to tell a story to the best of my abilities.. That's all. Sorry for the confusion, I normally write these chapters all at once, and once I'm done I don't always reread them, just because I hate reading my own work. I don't know why, I just don't like reading my own work, and because of that there will be a couple of grammatical errors, not to mention autocorrections that shouldn't ave been made.**

 **To AngelLover101: Sorry for making you wait this long :/ Hehe.. Yeah.. Don't read this chapter if you like Thalico scenes...**

 **Whew, that's all of them! Once again, I apologise profusely for making you all wait this goddamn long. I promise, I will make sure this never happens again. I hope you have a nice -whatever time it is wherever you are-, and please take care! I wish you all the best!**

 **Joy**


	37. Chapter 37

FLASHBACK

 **Nico's POV**

" _Okay... Maaybe I didn't really think this through..." Leo admitted sheepishly._

" _Gee... Ya think?" I retorted sarcastically. We were currently staring at Annabeth and Derek making out in the middle of the circle, a seething Percy in the background._

" _Well, I mean what were the odds of Annabeth and Derek getting each other, three consecutive times in a row?!" Leo exclaimed._

" _Guys, we gotta do something, fast.. I don't know know about you, but it looks like Percy's gonna snap aaany minute now.." Jason whispered._

" _Yeah, he looks like he's ready to kill someone.. and not in a good way.." Frank added quietly._

" _Yeah, but who's... " Leo started. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Did you just say 'and not in a good way'?"_

 _Frank looked like he was caught. "...Did I uhh.. Did I say that out loud?"_

 _We all looked at him with wide eyes. "Umm, yeah. Yeah you did. What the hell did you mean with that?!" Jason questioned him._

 _Frank looked like a trapped wild animal, ready to escape. "I... Guys I was just messing around..haha...Obviously, there's no good way to kill someone..."_

"What are you trying to say though? Did you kill someone?" Grover asked him.

 _Before he could answer, I decided to step in, cause time did not stop during that discussion. Percy was actually standing up. "Guys, we can cross-examine Frank's super dark and frankly now that I'm thinking about it sketchy past, in the future. But right now we gotta do something, cause while we were arguing, Percy was just sitting there all alone with his drunk thoughts."_

" _Oh shit.. It happened again.." Leo exclaimed._

" _Man.. we really gotta do something about how we handle these situations.." Jason said._

" _Who's gonna do something?" Leo wondered._

 _We all stared at him. "What? Why are you guys staring at me like that?" He asked us confusedly._

 _We kept staring at him, until he got it. " ...What? Whaat?... Wait.. Why me?!" He finally got it._

" _Umm.. Cause you're the reason we're in this mess in the first place?" I told him, like it was obvious._

" _Yeah, but-" He started, until Jason shoved him toward Percy, saying "Bro, we do not have the time to argue anymore. We wasted enough time as it is."_

 _Leo bumped into Percy, and put a hand on his chest. "Woah, bro. Hey, what's up? Where ya going?"_

 _Percy just looked away and said "Gonna get a breath of fresh air and a change of scenery. If I stay here any longer, I think I'm gonna be sick."_

" _What? No way! Why would you go now, when it's uhhh, it's your turn to spin!" Leo exclaimed, giving me a pointed look._

 _Percy looked at him confusedly. "What are you-"_

 _"Er, uhm yeah! Leo's right!" I interrupted him. "It's your turn to spin. Come on Annabeth, Derek, break it up you guys. Go make out in private like normal couples, and give us singles a chance for some action."_

 _"Brooo, it was getting interesting." Derek protested._

" _No, he's right. We should let other people play." Annabeth conceded._

" _Exactly!" Leo shouted, and then blushed. "I mean, she's right. And I think, Percy should spin."_

 _Aaand suddenly, Annabeth seemed to regret her words. Hmmm, interesting. "I agree, I vote that Percy spins next." I agreed._

" _Yeah, me too!" Jason added, together with Frank and Grover._

 _Percy, just looked shocked and then touched. "Wow, okay.. That's really cool of you guys, but that's not how-"  
_

" _Just spin the bottle, Aquaboy." Piper interrupted him._

 _Percy just scowled, muttering about how everyone seems to be interrupting him tonight._

" _Fine, here I go."_

 _And then... he spun._

 _Holy crap, this... this changes everything..._

END FLASHBACK

* * *

 **Ooooooh boy... Umm, hey guys... What's up with you? *sweating* I know I've been MIA for waay too long, and honestly i don't even have an excuse or anything.. I just honestly didn't have any inspiration... I know this is a short chapter, like waaaaay too short compared to my other chapters, and I'm really sorry for that. I'm just trying to get back into the groove of writing. I do plan on finishing this story, I'm just a little stuck at the moment. However, I will continue on. No excuses. I have no idea when I will post the next chapter, escpecially with exams next week, but I just couldn't keep postponing this. Honestly this was long overdue. Sorry for ending with a cliff hanger hehe...**

 **To Diamond: I know, I KNOW, goddamit... I'm so so so so sorry for making you wait this long!**

 **To NefariousAngels: I have big plans for thalico, don't you worry your pretty little head ;) And honestly, you are not coming off as rude, I was being rude for making you wait :( I'm really sorry that this chapter has no thalico scenes...**

 **To Guest: Thanks dude(tte)! But, I think I have to apologise this time, it's been way too long. I appreciate your criticism :)**

 **To Starbreaker195: Hey thanks a lot! I'm really sorry to hear that, I'm probably like a decade too late, but I am sorry for your loss... It's always hard to lose someone important to you.**

 **To allstaar: Hey dude, thanks! I appreciate your support! And you and me both brother, you and me both..**

 **To Thrawn13: No probz dude, it just means you care that much :) Thanks for believing in me!**

 **To Duckyah: Ohhh damn, sorry for making you wait anyway :(**

 **To JamieValdez: Trust me, it was hell :( It got me all messed up in regards to my reading schedule.. I was (and still am) in a reading slump :( Nice to hear you've got your priorities set :P And don't worry, I'm sure your tiger will turn up...somewhere.. Woah, I just read your other review, sorry man! I can't fucking believe you checked every goddamn day.. Like whaat? That makes me feel unbelievably bad, like god.. I promise not to make you wait this long (unless I died, or got into an awful accident) (and if I did die, I have already planned for that, so that you would all find out if I did die).**

 **To** **kavinbhatia: Thanks dude! I'll take your idea into account**

 **To Natman717: Thanks, i try my best. And i appreciate your concern, but honestly I barely use my snapchat anymore. I'm more of a Quora person.**

 **To Tori Chase: Oh thank god! I'd hope not! Honestly drinking isn't that great or anything, so trust me you won't be missing out :) No worries, I don't think it sounds fake, and thanks for your concern. I'm doing a lot better now. I think you'Re right, the humor is missing.. Never thought of myself as a funny person, so it's always weird when people think that. And yeah, that is a sick tattoo ;)**

 **To chrisie198920: Thank you very much chrisie 198920! :)**

 **To CowTits the Udderly Glorious: Thank you! I appreciate the support :)**

 **To RoyalFox89: Thank you! I'm so so so so sooorry for making you wait this goddamn long for like, the shortest chapter ever. :(**

 **To MasterTrident: Yeah, I think I got lucky now. Instead of like a disfiguring scar, all i got was a third dimple, so it's all good XD**

 **To PoppyOhare: Sorry for making you wait :(**

 **To Pregnantnun227: Geez, what is it with my fans and threatening me? I really should look into that... But I'm glad to see you'Re this passionate about something I made, like woah... WTF, I'm responsible for that... Mind. Blown. It's nice to hear that you get me tho, I could 100% relate with what you wrote!**

 **To Percabeth824: Thank you! Sorry for making you wait :(**

 **To Fratzy: Thank you so much! This really helped me :)**

 **To Eclipse 678: You and me both.**


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

 **Nico's POV**

"Nico, wake up man, we're here." Jason told me, while shaking me awake.

"Huh? What?" I asked groggily.

"We're here bro, we're at Friedman's house... The place with all the answers. One way or another, we're gonna find out exactly what happened at the party." Leo announced.

"That low-key, sounded ominous, I'm not gonna lie." Percy commented.

"Heh, yeah... That did, didn't it?" Leo answered. "Then again, we don't know what kind of shit happened at the party."

Everyone, except for Percy, gave Frank a pointed look.

He cleared his throat and said "Why, uhh, why don't we just ring the doorbell and find out?"

 **Annabeth's POV**

"So... wait, let me get this straight," I started, giving the girls a pointed look, "you all called me here because of some suuuuper important emergency."

"That is correct." Piper answered.

"And this super important emergency turned out to be... that you guys were too cheap to call an Uber?" I deadpanned.

"Huh, I guess we could've just done that. Oooooopsy daisy." Thalia said, not looking all that apologetic.

I started muttering curses under my breath.

"Tut-tut, Annabeth. Such language is unbecoming of a lady." Hazel reprimanded me.

I was not amused. "You guys make me drive all the way here under the guise that there was some 'super duper' important emergency, which turned out to be a chauffeuring job. Lady or not, I don't give a fuck. You guys suck, for hoodwinking me."

"Aww, love you too babe." Piper answered, blowing me a kiss. Bitch.

"Who even says hoodwink anymore? Like, how old are you even?" Thalia wondered.

"Shut up. I do. Pick up a book, why don't you." I retorted. "Let's just go."

-Line Break-

"Hey look, the guys are here!" Hazel exclaimed happily.

She seemed to be the only person happy about that.

Thalia, well she looked like she was about to cry for a second there but when I blinked, she looked indifferent, cool, pissed.

Piper looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here, and as for me? I was torn between wanting to run for the hills from the awkwardness that was about to ensue and marching up there, grabbing that fucking Seaweed Brain by the hair and just give him a piece of mind, then maybe beat the living shit out of him. I was heavily contemplating whether I should go up there and confront them, or if it wasn't too late to ride off into the sunset when the choice was made for me.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go up there and say 'Hi'!" Hazel announced. "Y'all acting really weird." She muttered quietly. Oh, dear sweet Hazel, you don't know half of it.

 **Thalia's POV**

It hurt.

Seeing him stand there.

I felt the tears well up.

I wanted to run away as fast as I could, as far as I could. I wanted to cry my heart out, cry until all my tears were gone. I wanted to scream at the sky, scream until I had no voice left. I wanted to punch the living daylights out of him, to punch him so hard that I got hurt in the process.

But most of all, I just wanted to be held by him. I wanted to be enveloped by his arms, by his smell, by his voice, by him.

My body ached for his embrace, my ears for his voice, my eyes for his eyes, my lips for his lips, my soul for his.

No. He doesn't deserve that. He said he wouldn't, and he fucking did. Nico Di Angelo doesn't deserve any of my tears. Not anymore. Not ever again.

"Yeah, what are we all waiting for? Let's go say hi!" I agreed.

 **Percy's POV**

We were about to ring the doorbell, when we heard a car stop behind us. We stopped and turned around.

"Hey, it's the girls!" Derek exclaimed happily. "They're probably here for the same reason we are. Let's wait, that way we can find out what happened, together!"

"Yeaaaaah, how about no." Leo suggested. "The last thing, and I mean last thing, we should do is exactly that."

"Nonsense! We all have the same goal here. Besides, we're all friends here, now aren't we?" Derek countered.

We all shared uneasy looks, after last night, were we really? Before we could even think about running away, Thalia stepped out of the car and she looked ready to kill a person. Her glare pretty much said 'Run. I dare you to.' Yep. It's probably too late to run now.

"Hey guys!" Hazel greeted us. "Small world, huh?"

"And yet I never run into Beyoncé." Nico muttered. "Hey guys... Long time no see."

"Not long enough." Thalia commented icily.

Yeesh, what the hell happened between them?! Everyone shared uneasy looks, when the front door opened, saving us all from this awkward, painful situation.

"Huh? Who...What are you guys doing here?" Nicole asked groggily.

"Heeeeey Nicole! How's it going? How ya feeling? You look great by the way! Honestly, I am shocked by how you can pull of the bedhead look! It really suits you! You're like a morning angel, gracing us peasants with her presence." Leo announced, bowing for good measure.

Nico hit him with his elbow, "Dude, tone it down." He whispered.

Nicole however, ate it all up. She started running her hands through her hair, blushing. "Oh my, well... That's SO sweet of you! You guys wanna come in for some coffee or something?"

We all stared at each other, shocked that that actually worked. Meanwhile, Leo just gave us a smug look and winked. He gave her what probably should look like a charming smile, but to me just looked like he was constipated, and said "We'd love to! Lead the way princesa." and then he kissed her hand.

She just blushed harder and ushered in. Well I'll be damned. Leo's got some fire moves, no doubt about it… That's my boy!

-Line Break-

"So, let me get this straight... You guys drove all the way here, just to find out what happened last night?" She asked us.

"Pretty much." Jason agreed.

"We uhh… we don't quite remember what exactly happened." Piper confessed.

Nicole snorted. "Yeah, no shit. With how much you all drank, I'm not surprised. You all practically drank the house dry! But why come to me?"

"Well, we heard a rumor that you filmed the party." Grover said.

"And you were hoping to see the video." She surmised.

"Yeah, pretty much…Or you know... If we could get a copy, that would be better." Nico proposed.

"Hmm, well I don't know... If I let you guys have a copy, then everyone would want one, and that would just open up a whole new can of worms for a lot of people. Let's just say a lot happened yesterday that I'm sure a lot of people want to keep secret."

I grabbed her hand and gave her my best puppy dog stare. "Please, Nicole! I don't remember a single thing, and I need to know what I did! I mean, look at this, I woke up with a goddamn tattoo on my arm! Who knows what else I might've done!"

She blushed and looked dazed at being near me. Huh, I wonder why?

"I don't know..." She said.

"Leo will take you to prom!" Nico proposed suddenly.

"He will?" She asked excitedly.

"I will?" Leo said at the same time.

"Yeah, you will, won't you pal." I told him resolutely, putting an arm around him.

He cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah I will! Nothing, and I mean nothing, would make me happier than the idea of a beautiful lady like you by my side." He told her convincingly.

Her eyes lit up, together with the rest of her face. "Deal, but I'm only giving you guys a piece of the video."

"Deal."

-Line Break-

Well, here we are. I have the video, well part of it, right here in my hands. All the answers to all of my questions. Gods, why do I feel so nervous. We are currently all here in my living room, getting things ready, because I quote 'If we're gonna have a big reveal, we're gonna do this right! I'm talking popcorn, lights off, and a lovely lady on my lap.' Three guesses for whose words that could've been.

"All right Leo, we got the popcorn, the lights are turned off, but no lady wants to sit on your lap. Can we finally watch this thing and get it over with?" Nico grumbled.

Leo sighed, but conceded "All right, all right... I guess I've kept everyone waiting long enough."

I put the video in, and then…

I clicked play.

* * *

 **-VIDEO-**

* * *

" _Yo, so I all gathered all of you fine ladies and gentlemen, to play a game, a game of kings and queens, a game that has lasted the test of time- ", Leo started._

" _Duuude, Leo, get on with it, just spit it out dude." Jason interrupted him._

 _Leo gave Jason a dirty look before finishing his announcement. "All right fine, I'll get straight to the point. We're playing: Spin the bottle y'aaaaall!"_

 _Absolute. Silence._

" _You know, this is the part where you guys are supposed to cheer! Come ooon, you can actually get a chance to kiss your secret crush, why isn't anyone cheering?" Leo whined._

" _Ehh, I don't know dude, I mean isn't spin the bottle just a little bit childish?" Derek asked._

" _Maybe you're a little bit childish, Derek!" Leo retorted._

" _Woah dude, chillax, Derek didn't mean any harm with that, right?" Percy said, trying to diffuse the situation._

 _Everyone from the gang looked surprised at Percy, for jumping to Derek's defense._

 _Derek's eyes widened. "Oh, uh yeah, you know what, I'd love to play spin the bottle! What uhh, what are the rules again Leo?"_

 _Leo shook off his surprise and started to explain the game. "Well, it's pretty simple, we got this bottle here in the middle, someone spins it and whoever it lands on, they have to kiss. Nothing to it, but to do it."_

" _Oh, but what if you or the other person refuses?" Hazel asked._

" _Huh, I didn't think of that… Cause, you know, girls don't usually refuse soo..." Leo winked. "But that is a good question..."_

" _OH, I know, whoever refuses has to take 5 shots, of this." And then Piper produced a bottle of Soju out of thin air._

 _Everyone gasped. Well, except for Derek._

" _Euhm, what's so bad with that Chinese bottle?" He asked._

" _Dude, it's STRONG, and Korean not Chinese." Frank answered._

" _Yeah, I remember the first time I tasted it. I swear, at first I thought I was drinking pure alcohol." Jason added._

" _Soo, everyone in?" Piper asked with a devious smile._

" _Ehh... I don't know-" Annabeth started._

" _YESS, that's an excellent idea Piper! Come on Wise Girl, live a little! What? Scared ya might like kissing me?" Percy interrupted, raising his left eyebrow at the end._

 _Annabeth replied "Oh, you are so on Seaweed brain, I'm gonna kiss the crap out of you!"_

 _Percy just brought his face closer to hers and said "I'm gonna kiss you so hard, your grandchildren will still feel it."_

 _Annabeth narrowed her eyes and brought her face even closer to his. "I'm gonna kiss you so hard, you'll never be able to get the taste of me out of your mouth,"_

 _Derek cleared his throat, breaking the building tension between Percy and Annabeth._

" _As uhm fun as it is watching the both of you exchange weird, I mean really weird thrash talk, I think everyone else wants to start with the game." Piper announced._

" _Yeah, you love birds, save it for the game." Nico added with a wink._

 _Percy and Annabeth became beet red after hearing that._

" _Right, uhh, sorry." Percy said sheepishly._

-PAUSE-

* * *

Percy and Annabeth cringed hard while watching that scene.

"Ugh, I can't believe we actually said that..." Annabeth shuddered.

"Worse trash talk, ever. Instant regret to be honest." Percy agreed. "I am never drinking that much again." he vowed.

"Same here." Annabeth confirmed.

Everyone around them just laughed, which caused Percy's and Annabeth's indignant look.

"Hey, we're serious here!" Annabeth stated.

"Yeah, this is for the long run this time!" Percy affirmed.

"Listen guys, it's not that we think you're alcoholics or something, it's just that every single time any of us makes that vow, they always always always end up breaking that vow.." Piper said.

"Sometimes the next day even." Grover added.

"Yeah, well...This time is different!" Percy insisted.

"I think we can keep a promise this simple." Annabeth asserted.

"If you say so.." Frank muttered.

"We do. We mean it this time. Right Wise Girl?"

"You got that right Seaweed Brain!"

They promptly broke that promise the very next day.

* * *

-PLAY-

" _Game on!" Jason whooped._

" _Who goes first?" Hazel wondered._

 _Silence followed afterwards. Leo and Nico were shooting Percy looks, which he missed in his inebriated state._

" _Well… If no one wants to go, then I'll go." Annabeth volunteered._

" _Damn..." Leo muttered quietly._

" _What was that?"_

" _Oh, uh nothing. Thanks for stepping up Annabeth." Leo stammered._

 _Annabeth looked confused but decided not to push it. "Uhm, okay then… Here I go."_

 _The bottle kept on spinning before finally landing on Derek._

 _He smiled. "Well babe, guess this is fate huh? Bring them fine lips over here."_

 _She laughed. "All right lover boy, here I come."_

 _And so, she proceeded to give him a chaste peck on the lips._

"… _Dude, that ended the moment it began!" Derek complained._

 _Annabeth simply smirked. "Well, if you want me to kiss you longer then you'll simply have to spin the bottle and hope it lands on me again. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"_

 _Derek wore a look of determination. "Oh, you are so on babe."_

 _And lo and behold, the bottle once more landed on Annabeth. Multiple times._

-PAUSE-

* * *

"Dayumn, you guys sure are going at it." Nico commented.

Annabeth blushed.

"Dude, don't blame us. I was just reaaally lucky that night. If ya know what I mean." Derek winked.

"…"

"Let's just keep watching, yeah?" Percy said with an overly cheerful tone.

* * *

-PLAY-

" _Okay... Maaybe I didn't really think this through..." Leo admitted sheepishly._

" _Gee... Ya think?" Nico retorted sarcastically._

" _Well, I mean what were the odds of Annabeth and Derek getting each other, three consecutive times in a row?!" Leo exclaimed._

" _Guys, we gotta do something, fast.. I don't know know about you, but it looks like Percy's gonna snap aaany minute now.." Jason whispered._

" _Yeah, he looks like he's ready to kill someone.. and not in a good way.." Frank added quietly._

-PAUSE-

* * *

Frank paused the video, sweating bullets. "Uh, maybe we should skip this part."

"What? No way, it was just getting goood." Derek complained.

"Yeah, I'd love to know what happened next!" Hazel exclaimed

Frank, being a sucker for Hazel's puppy dog stared, could only sigh and relent. "Fine... but I just want to let everyone know, I didn't mean anything by it! I was probably drunk out of my mind even!"

"Dude, everyone was drunk out of their mind." Percy deadpanned.

"True that." Piper commented.

* * *

-PLAY-

" _Yeah, but who's... " Leo started. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Did you just say 'and not in a good way'?"_

 _Frank looked like he was caught. "...Did I uhh.. Did I say that out loud?"_

 _All the guys looked at him with wide eyes. "Umm, yeah. Yeah, you did. What the hell did you mean with that?!" Jason questioned him._

 _Frank looked like a trapped wild animal, ready to escape. "I... Guys I was just messing around..haha...Obviously, there's no good way to kill someone..."_

 _"What are you trying to say though? Did you kill someone?" Grover asked him._

 _Before he could answer, Nico noticed Percy was trying to stand up, no doubt planning to storm off._

" _Guys, we can cross-examine Frank's super dark and frankly now that I'm thinking about it sketchy past, in the future. But right now, we gotta do something, cause while we were arguing Percy was just sitting there all alone with his drunk thoughts._

" _Oh shit... It happened again..." Leo exclaimed._

" _Man we really gotta do something about how we handle these situations..." Jason said._

" _Who's gonna do something?" Leo wondered._

 _All the guys stared at him. "What? Why are you guys staring at me like that?" He asked confusedly._

 _They kept staring at him, until he got it. "... What? Whaat? ... Wait.. Why me?!"_

" _Umm.. Cause you're the reason we're in this mess in the first place?" Nico told him._

" _Yeah, but-" He started, until Jason shoved him toward Percy, saying "Bro, we do not have the time to argue anymore. We wasted enough time as it is."_

 _Leo bumped into Percy, and put a hand on his chest. "Woah, bro. Hey, what's up? Where ya going?"_

 _Percy just looked away and said "Gonna get a breath of fresh air and a change of scenery. If I stay here any longer, I think I'm gonna be sick."_

" _What? No way! Why would you go now, when it's uhhh, it's your turn to spin!" Leo exclaimed, giving Nico a pointed look._

 _Percy looked at him confusedly. "What are you-"_

 _"Er, uhm yeah! Leo's right!" Nico interrupted him. "It's your turn to spin. Come on Annabeth, Derek, break it up you guys. Go make out in private like normal couples, and give us singles a chance for some action."_

" _Brooo, it was getting interesting." Derek protested._

" _No, he's right. We should let other people play." Annabeth conceded._

" _Exactly!" Leo shouted, and then blushed. "I mean, she's right. And I think, Percy should spin."_

 _And suddenly, Annabeth wore a look of regret._

" _I agree, I vote that Percy spins next." Nico agreed._

" _Yeah, me too!" Jason added, together with Frank and Grover._

 _Percy, just looked shocked and then touched. "Wow, okay.. That's really cool of you guys, but that's not how-"_

" _Just spin the bottle, Aquaboy." Piper interrupted him._

 _Percy just scowled, muttering about how everyone seems to be interrupting him tonight._

" _Fine, here I go."_

 _And then, the bottle spun._

 _Round and round it went, before finally landing on..._

 _Piper._

 _(FLASHBACK TO THAT EXACT MOMENT: **ANNABETH'S POV** )_

 _No._

 _No no._

 _N_ _o no no._

 _Not her. Anyone but her. Why did it have to land on her?!_

 _One kiss and he'll probably fall for her. And why wouldn't he? Piper's smart, funny, sweet and beautiful.. God why is she even single? Why couldn't she be taken? What's the matter with her?_

 _..._

 _What's the matter with me?!_

 _Why do I even care?_

 _I shouldn't care... But, I do..._

 _Maybe he won't even choose her. Yeah, maybe he'll choose to drink 5 shots of Soju instead._

" _Soo... Perce, Pipes, I think this is the part where you guys you know, kiss." Leo said awkwardly. I shot him a glare._

" _Unless you don't want to." Jason added hastily. "I mean, Perce, you can always just refuse and just take the 5 shots, I'm sure Piper wouldn't be offended."_

 _Piper shot him a weird look. "Uhm, yes, yes I am offended. And why are you speaking for me anyway? What, you don't think I'm kiss worthy Jason?"_

 _He started sweating bullets. "No, God no. I mean yes.. I mean, ugh I..-"_

" _Nah it's ok, I'll kiss her," Percy interrupted._

 _What. The. Fuck._

 _Everyone looked at him, shocked. Except for Derek._

" _All right, Perce! Get some!" Derek clapped him on the back._

 _Percy shot him a smile and a look of gratitude."Appreciate the support man."_

" _Really?" Nico asked him, perturbed._

 _Percy shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it's just a game and you know, Piper is pretty hot I guess. Why not? It's all just a bit of fun anyways, right? I mean, that is, if Piper wants to kiss me.."_

 _I shot Piper a pleading look, hoping she'll understand what I'm trying to convey... What am I trying to convey actually?_

 _Everyone else looked at Piper curiously._

" _Ohh, well..." Piper started, looking at everyone, no doubt feeling the pressure on her. She looked at Thalia, Hazel and then at me, seemingly having made a decision. Phew, okay... Crisis averted. I hated myself for feeling relieved._

 _But then Derek put his arm around me, and she looked back at Percy. He looked... Kind of down.. In fact how did I not notice that? He kinda looked down all night now that I think about it..._

 _She shot me an apologetic look._

 _No._

 _No no._

 _No no no._

" _Yeah, sure I'd love to kiss you Aquaboy." Piper answered with a soft smile I've never seen her give anyone. Ever._

 _And then she kissed him._

 _She kissed Percy._

 _Percy._

 _MY Percy!_

 _Wow, where did that come from?_

 _What the hell is the matter with me? Why am I so angry?_

 _Oh. My. God. Am I... Jealous?_

 _God I am, aren't I? Why the hell am I jealous? What is wrong with me? Here I am, dating a perfectly nice guy, and I'm jealous of one of my best friends kissing Seaweed Brain, my other best FRIEND. God I really need to chill out.._

 _After their kiss, which lasted way too long if you ask me, Percy and Piper looked dazed._

" _Woah_ _._ _.." Percy said with a shocked look._

 _Piper looked at him, sporting the exact same look. "I know! I did not expect that_ _._ _.."_

 _I narrowed my eyes at them._

" _Expect what?" I asked, desperately hoping my jealousy couldn't be heard from my tone._

 _Apparently, Percy could detect the hostile energy coming from me, because he suddenly looked nervous. "Oh, uhh, just that the kiss wasn't._ _._ _.Terrible?"_

 _I scowled at him. "Are you asking me or telling me?"_

 _Percy gulped. "Umm... Depends, which answer will make you less angry?"_

 _At the same time Piper said "Wasn't terrible? Please, that kiss was fucking fantastic and you know it! "_

 _I was about to retort, a scathing remark at the tip of my tongue, but Piper beat me to the punch._

" _Chill out Annabeth, it was just a kiss._ _I don't even know why you're getting so worked up about it, we're all friends here." She said with narrowed eyes at me._

 _Oh, it is on bitch._

 _But then Derek whispered in my ears "She's right babe, tonight's supposed to be fun. It's just a game."_

 _All of my anger drained away after hearing that. He's right. What the hell am I doing? Percy and I aren't dating. So what if he wants to go around and kiss my best friend? He's allowed to.. I guess.._

 _And Piper gets to kiss whoever she wants._

 _I'm with Derek now. It's about time I start giving me 110% percent to this relationship. I should give Derek my all. Tonight._

 _I should probably also talk to Percy after this game. Yeah, I'll grab him and talk to him quietly, away from prying eyes._

 _I sent Percy a look that said 'We have to talk later'._

 _I sighed. "All right, sorry guys for kinda being a little bit of a bitch."_

" _A little?" Leo muttered._

 _I shot him my best death glare. "Don't push your luck Valdez."_

 _All the color drained from his face. "Right, gotcha babe."_

 _(END FLAHSBACK IN ANNABETH'S POV: BACK TO THE VIDEO)_

" _All right, Piper your turn to spin." Jason said hastily, hoping to avoid bloodshed._

 _So she did._

" _All riiight, Piper! You are the luckiest girl in the world, cause you get to kiss, me, Leo Valdez, bad boy supreme aaand the world's most sensual kisser." Leo tried to say sensually. It kinda got ruined by the fact that he was putting on chapstick. Not that sexy tbh._

" _Gimme the shots." Piper deadpanned._

 _Leo wore a look of indignation. "You would rather drink 5 shots of soju, SOJU, than kiss me? Me?! Leo Valdez?!"_

 _Piper looked him dead in the eyes when she drank her firs shot without flinching or gagging._

" _Much rather. It's the least painful option."She stated after having downed the other shots._

 _Everyone laughed at the face Leo made._

" _Hmph, well, there's no accounting for taste.. At least I get to spin now. Come oon universe, let it land on a girl." Leo pleaded._

 _It landed on Hazel._

 _Leo wiggled his eyebrows. "Sorry Frank, brother, but now it's Leo's time to shine! All right Hazel, pucker up."_

" _..I'll take the shots.." Hazel stated before promptly downing the shots._

" _Dammit woman! We really need new girls in our circle guys, I'm getting like zero action here!" Leo wailed._

" _Duly noted." Frank said with narrowed eyes._

 _Leo gulped. "All righty then.. Hazel spin, for the love of god, spin the bottle!"_

 _And waddaya know, it landed on Frank!_

 _One kiss later and Frank's anger subsided immensely, in fact he looked like the happiest guy on earth... until he realized it was his turn to spin._

" _Aw man, there isn't anyone else I would want to kiss except Hazel!" Frank lamented._

" _Aww, that's so sweet, I love you!" Hazel cooed._

" _On the other hand, I don't want to get drunk either... No one's worth getting a hangover for..." Frank muttered._

" _Oh, wow okay, not as sweet anymore.. Just spin it and see I guess, whatever." Hazel said._

" _Oh, Hazel, I didn't mean... I'd get a hangover for you any day! Just, maybe not today, I'm not really in the mood." Frank said, trying to comfort his irritated girlfriend._

" _I don't want to hear it Frank! Just spin the bottle and pucker up. Or not, I don't care." Hazel answered nonchalantly._

 _Frank sighed and spun the bottle._

 _It landed on Jason._

" _..."_

" _Umm, how about I get your shots ready?" Jason proposed quickly._

" _Yeah, thanks dude." Frank said with gratitude._

" _Aww come on, you guys aren't gonna kiss?" Thalia teased._ _" And here I thought you were comfortable with you masculinity little brother."_

" _I am comfortable with my masculinity!" Jason protested, "I just don't see why I can't be comfortable with my masculinity and not have to kiss one of my best friends at the same time."_

" _Well, actions speak louder than words dude." Nico commented._

" _Well it doesn't matter cause Frank wants to down these shots, right buddy?" Jason asked him._

" _Right!" Frank said, shooting Hazel a meaningful look. "There's no one else I'd rather kiss than my Hazelnut. See? I would so get a hangover for you! That's how much I love you!"_

" _Well I think you guys should kiss." Piper commented._

" _Yeah, well no one asked you." Jason snapped._

" _Besides, that is an awful idea, right Hazelnut?" Frank said._

" _I don't know Frank... I think you and Jason should kiss." Hazel said slowly._

" _WHAT?!" Jason and Frank shouted._

" _Yesssss!" Thalia said, high five-ing Nico._

" _I always shipped you guys." Leo commented._

" _Yeah, they'd be a nice couple." Percy agreed._

" _True true." Annabeth affirmed._

" _I'm so confused babe." Derek admitted._

" _It's pretty much the norm around here. You'll get used to it." Grover patted him on the back._

" _Um, Hazel, sweetie are you sure you want me to kiss Jason? I mean, wouldn't that be weird for you? For me? For us?" Frank tried to reason._

" _Oh please, Frank, if the tables were turned and I had to kiss let's say... Piper! Would you be against it?" Hazel queried._

" _..."_

-PAUSE-

* * *

"Oh my god, look at your faces on the video! You guys were totally picturing it!" Hazel gasped, scandalized.

"..."

"I was." Leo admitted proudly, until he saw Hazel's, Frank's, Nico's and Piper's reactions. "I mean, uhh... KIDDING! Got ya! Hahaha... What about Jason tho, I mean look at his face! He was SO picturing it!."

Jason started sweating. "What? No, I was definitely not picturing Piper... making out with Hazel... I would never do that... ever... In fact, I've never even thought about... those kind of...stuff.." He shot Leo a dirty look for trying to drag him down with him. "Anyway, look at Percy! Percy was totally picturing it!"

Percy's eyes widened. "Wait, what? No, I wasn't! I really wasn't!"

"Oh my god you totally were!" Piper gasped. "Look at your face here in the video!" She pointed at his dreamy expression on the screen.

"Dude, gross! That's my half sister!" Nico complained.

"What is the matter with you?" Annabeth asked crossly.

"Uhh... help?" Percy pleaded.

"Guys, guys, I don't think anyone was picturing it." Grover tried to reason, "I mean, Percy was probably still dazed from his kiss with Piper, Jason looks more horrified at the thought of kissing Frank, and Leo... Well, he probably was picturing it."

"Dude!" Leo exclaimed.

Grover just gave him a look that meant no nonsense.

"All right fine, I was." Leo admitted.

"All right, all right, there will be plenty of time to beat Leo up later. Let's get on with the video first." Thalia said.

"Phew, thanks Thals!" Leo said.

"Besides, knowing Leo, the more we watch the more reasons we'll **all** have to beat Leo up." Thalia continued.

"Wow, thank you so much Thalia." Leo said sarcastically.

"Anytime Valdez, anytime."

* * *

-PLAY-

" _Well?" Hazel pressed._

" _Uhhh.. I plead the fifth?" Frank stammered._

" _Oh, ok._ _._ _. I see how it is, so it's fine if I have to kiss another girl, but if it's you and another guy, it's the end of the world!" Hazel said crossly._

" _Ugh, that is so sexist." Thalia commented._

" _Dude, it's just a game. Suck it up and do it." Percy advised._

" _Bro!" Jason exclaimed._

" _What? I'd do it." Percy answered._

" _Uh-huh, sure you would. It's easy to say that when you aren't the one who has to kiss one of your bros. I bet you would never kiss let's say, Leo!" Jason countered._

 _In response Percy grabbed Leo's face and gave him a quick peck on the lips._

" _Done." Percy said. "That wasn't so hard. Plus, now I can rest easy knowing me and him? Never gonna happen."_

 _Everyone else just wore looks of astonishment._

" _Wow. Sad to think this is the most action I've gotten from this game." Leo bemoaned._

" _Did not see that coming." Grover commented._

" _Ah screw it, if it'll make you happy Hazel..." Frank sighed right before grabbing Jason's head._

" _Woah dude, wait a sec.-" Jason started._

 _And then Frank kissed him._

" _There! Hazel, I want you to know there is nothing I wouldn't do for you! I love you!" Frank said, while letting go of Jason's face._

" _Oh my god, Frank!" Hazel exclaimed right before giving him a passionate kiss._

" _This evening sucks." Jason complained._

" _Chin up dude, you get to spin now." Derek told him._

" _Well... That is true..." Jason conceded._

 _And so, the game continued, until:_

" _All right Nico dude, your turn! ", Percy exclaimed. "Who's gonna be the lucky lady that gets to kiss my cousin?"_

 _Nico laughed. "Dude, how are you this drunk? You haven't downed a single drop of soju, even when it landed on me."_

" _Yeah… Let's never speak of that again…"_

" _Agreed."_

" _Anyhow, come on man, I am pumped! Thalia mixed me up this totally rad cocktail and at first, I wanted to spit it out, but after like the 3_ _rd_ _one, it got gooood."_

" _Oh, Thalia made you a cocktail now, did she?" Nico asked, narrowing his eyes at Thalia._

" _What? He looked so stressed, I thought it might calm him down!" She retorted._

" _And you thought alcohol was the way to go? In the future ya might wanna try making him tea before giving him a cocktail with gods knows what." He answered sarcastically._

" _Ooh, if you do, I know this really great tea place!" Piper commented._

" _Oh, the one on fifth street?" Grover asked._

" _No, I was talking about the one near our school… Why? Is the one on fifth better?"_

" _Yeah, you gotta try it! They've got this herbal tea mix that's out of this world!"_

" _Uhm… Are we still playing kiss the bottle? Cause, we're the only ones left, everyone else is off playing 7 minutes in heaven." Jason interrupted._

" _Woah, there Jason, I'm very flattered. I know we shared a nice kiss and all, but I don't want to spend 7 minutes with you in a closet." Frank said._

" _What? No! I didn't… I didn't mean we should play 7 minutes in heaven! I was just…- "Jason stammered, beet red._

" _Ha, I'm just kidding dude." Frank winked, high-fiving Leo. "You were right, it is fun messing with people"_

" _Told you dude." Leo said._

" _Ha ha, very funny." Jason deadpanned. "But for real, are we gonna keep playing?"_

" _Ehh, why not? At this point it feels like we've all kissed each other at least once..." Leo stated._

" _Aight, then I should probably spin this bottle, yeah?" Nico proposed._

 _It landed on Thalia._

" _Shit..." Nico muttered._

" _What was that?" Thalia asked._

" _Oh, uhh nothing, just that… I've been dying to try this Soju! I mean, damn look at it! I think I'm gonna take the 5 shots, no offence Thals."_

 _Thalia narrowed her eyes. "Gee, why would I be offended?"_

" _Yeah, that's the spirit!"_

" _I hope you choke on those shots." She deadpanned._

" _Duly noted."_

" _All right Thalia, spin that bottle! Let's see who you'll get!" Grover shouted, desperate to get rid of the awkwardness that followed._

 _Thalia shot Nico a glare. "Yeah, I'd love to kiss a real guy."_

" _Heh, no need for a bottle there, you can always just ask me chica! I'd be happy to do it any time, anywhere." Leo winked at her._

" _Ha, you are funny. I said a real guy." Thalia said straight-faced._

" _Hey! I'll have you know, I'm all man!"_

" _I'm sorry, did you say all man or small man?"_

" _Oh, wow… you're mean you know that?"_

" _Yeah, I take great pride in that."_

 _And then she spun the bottle. Hard._

 _It landed on… Percy!_

 _Both Thalia and Percy became wide-eyed, while Nico, well he and Annabeth both looked horrified. Everyone else just looked shocked._

 _(FLASHBACK TO THAT EXACT MOMENT: **THALIA'S POV** )_

" _Erm… Well… Let me get those shots for you Thals, I know you said you wanted to kiss a real guy so…" Percy said, hoping it'll diffuse the situation._

 _I wanted to kiss him, if only to spite Nico. And I immediately felt awful for that thought. I can't do that to Nico. Or Percy. Or Annabeth. God if he and I kissed, it would just cause the biggest shit storm ever. And yet…_

" _Eh, nah, I don't feel like having a hangover tomorrow." Is what I said._

"…"

" _Thalia, are you sure that's a good idea?" Nico asked me with narrowed eyes._

 _I just raised one of my eyebrows and said "Why not? It's just a game, and we're all just friends here. You made that perfectly clear."_

" _Uhm, I don't know if I'm all that comfortable kissing you..." Percy told me._

" _Ah, come one Kelp Head, it'll be fine! Besides, I will be very offended if you are willing to kiss Leo just to make a point, but not me. Leo."_

"… _Well… can't argue with that logic Perce." Leo commented._

 _Percy looked at Nico. "Huh, well... Is there a reason why I shouldn't kiss her?"_

 _Nico shrugged. "Hey dude, it's your lips… If you wanna kiss Thalia, go for it...I sure as hell ain't stopping you."_

" _Well… Okay then dude, if you say so…"_

" _Yeah, I say so Perce, god."_

 _Percy turned towards me. "Okay, bring it on Pinecone Face!"_

" _Ohh it is so on Kelp Head!"_

" _Are you guys gonna kiss, or fight?" Hazel wondered._

 _Percy and I shared a look before looking back at Hazel. "Both." God, it's so awesome how we can be on the same page sometimes._

"… _Okay then… I will let you guys to it…"_

" _Aight, ready for the kiss of your life Thals?"_

 _There's still time to back down, I can avoid all of the problems that'll come if I do this. I know that this is a mistake, but…_

" _No one's ever ready for the worst kiss of their life."_

" _Wow, you are mean today."_

" _Shut up and kiss me you idiot."_

 _Right when he was about to kiss me, I changed my mind last second and turned my head. God, as pissed as I am at Nico, I can't do this to him. Or to Percy. Or to Annabeth. Not with the history Percy had with me._

"… _Well… not exactly the best I've had tonight, but certainly not the worst." Percy commented._

" _Hey, is that a dig at our kiss?" Leo said indignantly._

" _What? No! Nono no no no... Never! I was talking about my kiss with…" Percy started._

" _Don't you say dare say my name Aquaboy." Piper warned._

" _Never! Your awesomeness! See? I remembered our deal from way back then!" Percy said, hoping to calm Piper down before she got too mad. It seemed to have worked. Your awesomeness? Now where did that come from?_

" _Well who'd you think was better at kissing? Me or Leo?" Piper asked him, both Leo and her were giving him hopeful looks._

 _He started to sweat. "Well… uhm… I mean…"_

 _Well, I should help him out, after all he doesn't seem mad that I backed out of our kiss in the last second._

 _(END FLAHSBACK IN_ _THALIA_ _'S POV: BACK TO THE VIDEO)_

" _Hey Perce, wanna get those shots ready for me?" I asked him with a wink._

 _He shot me a look of gratitude. "Yeah, sure. Sorry Guys, as much as I would love to answer this question for the ages, I've gotta help Thals over here so… "_

" _This isn't over Fish boy!" Piper announced._

" _Yeah, one way or another we're getting an answer out of you chico!" Leo affirmed._

" _Well, as much as I'm looking forward to THAT conversation… I think I'm gonna go and look for a new bottle of Soju." Percy said._

" _No need, got one right here." Juniper said, while she entered the room. She gave Thalia the bottle and looked at Grover and asked, "Hey do you guys mind if I steal Grover for a while?"_

 _Grover's eyes widened. "Oh, well… I mean… That is…" he stammered._

 _Jason put his arm around Grover and said "Nah, no one minds, I'm sure Grover definitely doesn't mind, right pal?"_

 _Grover shot him a look of gratitude. "Yeah, I'd let you steal me any time!"_

 _She giggled and grabbed Grover by the arm. "Well, okay then. Glad to know you're excited! Don't worry, I promise to bring him back whole."_

" _Take all the time you need!" Leo winked._

" _That's my boy!" Percy whooped._

 _Frank wiped away a non-existent tear, "They grow up so fast."_

 _Nico sighed. "I know! It seems like it was just yesterday when he came home and told us about his first crush..."_

" _Maybe because it was yesterday." Jason speculated. "Right?"_

" _I don't know man, all I know is I think we should wrap this game up." Nico said._

" _Yeah, how about one more spin and we wrap this up?" Annabeth proposed._

" _Sounds good, I've got a bone to pick with some people." Thalia said, narrowing her eyes at Nico. Who promptly regretted his proposition._

" _On the other hand, the night is still young…"_

" _No, you're right, I am getting a little bit tired." Hazel said with a yawn._

" _Damn, my one weakness… My baby sister." Nico cursed._

" _Who's turn was it again?" Derek wondered._

" _Well, I had to drink 5 shots of soju cause I realized that I don't wanna get Kelp Head's cooties so…" Thalia recalled._

 _Percy was offended. "I do NOT have cooties! You know what it is? I think you were scared, cause I'm an amazing kisser!"_

" _Sure, that's what it was." Thalia said unconvincingly. She turned towards Piper and Leo and asked, "Tell me, was he an amazing kisser?"_

 _Both just shrugged and said "Eh."_

 _Thalia shot him a smug look. "At what point did you hear them say, yes?"_

" _What? Weren't you listening? They obviously said, yeh!"_

" _Ha, whatever you say Kelp head, whatever you say… Just spin the damn bottle so that we can all finally stop this accursed game."_

" _You're not the boss of me!"_

 _Thalia shot him a look that promised death._

"… _Maybe you are. Okay, spinning the bottle." Percy muttered._

 _The bottle spun round and round, before landing on its last victim of the night._

 _Annabeth._

 _(FLASHBACK TO THAT EXACT MOMENT: **PERCY'S POV** )_

 _Ah shit!_

 _Shit. Fuck. Damn it all to hell!_

 _All night, all night long I survived spinning that damn bottle without it landing on Annabeth, so of course it had to land on her right at the end. Why must the fates curse me so?_

 _I can't do it. I can kiss Leo no problem, Piper any day, Thalia if I had to, hell I could even kiss Derek right about now, but Annabeth? Annabeth's my kryptonite. I can't kiss her now, I just can't… Definitely not in front of everyone._

" _Heh, well uhm… Thalia, wanna hand met that bottle of Soju? No shot glasses needed, I'll just drink it straight from the bottle." I said with an uncomfortable laugh at the end._

" _Wait.. so you're saying you don't want to kiss me?"Annabeth asked sounding a little bit indignant. Just a little bit._

" _Uhm... well... I mean, yeah pretty much..." I said uncomfortably._

" _Why?!"_

 _I can't tell her why. I just can't... Fuck, but I can't kiss her either. I just know, the moment our lips will meet, I'll be hooked for life. I'll be so far gone, for a girl who's in love with someone else. I can't I just can'T do that to myself._

 _Of course, I can't tell her all that either..._

" _Why can't you kiss me Seaweed Brain? You've kissed pretty much everyone else!"_

" _I can't tell you..." I whispered._

" _What?"_

 _Fuck, I can't hold it in anymore... I don't care anymore..._

" _I...I-" I started, the confession at the tip of my tongue, ready to spill out of my mouth like vomit when... actual vomit came out instead._

 _Well... That's one way to avoid that awkward conversation I suppose..._

" _Oh my god!"_

 _(END FLAHSBACK IN_ _PERCY_ _'S POV: BACK TO THE VIDEO)_

 _Absolute chaos._

 _Everyone was shouting, when Leo got a phone call. He shushed everyone loudly. "Guys, guys, GUYS, I'm getting a phone call, so will you all shut up! Thanks!"_

 _He picked up the phone. "Hello, this is Leo Valdez, Bad Boy supreme, what can I do for you?"_

" _Oh hey chica, I knew you'd call me back!" Leo said excitedly._

" _Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Okay, great. Yeah, well wanna be my prom date? It's in two months!"_

 _Loud shouting could be heard from the phone_

" _... So that's a soft maybe then?"_

 _Even louder shouting could be heard from the phone._

" _Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Okay, well great… Thanks for calling me, I'll call you back!"_

" _Don't you dare ever call me back!" Could be heard being shrieked by a woman from the phone._

" _I'll call you back tomorrow sweetie." Leo answered back lovingly before hanging up._

" _Okay, you guys can go back to panicking." Leo announced before sitting down at the couch._

" _Dude, who was that?" Jason asked, everyone else wondering the exact same thing._

" _Yeah, and why'd she sound pissed?" Frank added._

" _Her? Oh, that was just Khione, one of my many, many,_ _many_ _female admirers." Leo answered back smugly._

" _Wait a sec… Khione, as in the girl we met at the club a while back… Khione as in Rachel's best friend, Rachel Dare?!" Percy shouted._

" _The very same!" Leo shouted back._

" _Oh, my god what did she say?!" Hazel shouted._

" _Uhh.. Why are you guys shouting?" Grover asked, entering the room._

" _Not now dude!" Frank shouted at him._

" _No, no, wait, how'd things go with Juniper?" Leo asked him in a normal volume._

" _Guys, I'm in love." Grover said seriously. "She said yes! She actually said yes!"_

" _Wait, what are we talking about now?" Piper asked._

" _Juniper! Grover wanted to ask her to prom, and I'm assuming you succeeded?" Jason explained/asked._

" _Oh, well... No! But, I did ask her out on a date, I was thinking I could ask her then." Grover said._

" _That is so awesome dude! Congrats!" Percy said, clapping him on the back._

" _Never doubted you for a second dude!" Nico winked._

" _Man, you'Re so awesome! You didn't even need our help!" Leo exclaimed._

" _Thank you, thank you all! But, what were you guys talking about before I came in?" Grover wondered._

" _OH, right! Dude, Percy, so that was Khione and guess what she said!" Leo said excitedly._

" _Uhm... I don't want to go to prom with you?" Percy guessed._

" _No!... Well, yeah, but I meant something else." Leo retorted._

" _Just tell us!" Thalia growled._

" _Rachel's still here."_

" _..."_

* * *

 **-END VIDEO-**

* * *

 **Heh heh, uhm... Hey guys, what's up? Hope you all had a great life so far, and a happy holidays! I know I've been well... on an unexpected hiatus, and I'm really sorry, but honestly? My heart just wasn't in it, and that wasn't fair. I feel like it was reflected on my writing and that sucked. But, suddenly I was struck with this inspiration and I just KNOW it would've haunted me if I didn't finish this story after promising all of you I would. I don't want to be one of THOSE writers you know? I found my book with ideas for this story, and I realised I missed writing. I want to write again. So, even though I have even less time to write than before what with uni and EXAMS and all, I will write again. I'm planning on updating every Friday again. And if that doesn't work, then I'll just pick another day! But, I want to update this story at least once a week.**

 **I can't promise that every chapter will be as long as this one tho... I've kinda been working on this chapter on and off for a while, but I'll try. Anyhow, tell me what you thought of this chapter! I seriously would appreciate the feedback! And hey, if you ever have any ideas or even thoughts, well.. Then voice it! And if you don't want to say it in public, you can always PM me ;)**

 **Now onto the reviews:**

 **To Thrawn13: Thanks! I try my best :)**

 **To W12ytIL7: Thanks! It's uh, it's been a looong time since I've updated this heh... As for the main ship, uhm well at the moment, no not really... And as for the no inspiration or ideas, well, I've got some now, definitely more than before. And no. I am definitely not planning to add any of THOSE scenes... I've got enough problems with normal scenes, let's not add lemons in the mix. As for why I put that there, honestly I can't remember. It's been 2 years since I started this story, and when I look back on some of the things I wrote, I can't even remember what I was thinking! Wow... It's been 2 year... Maybe it is time I change that summary...**

 **To NefariousAngels: I'm so sad I missed updating on the 1 year anniversary. Honestly, I felt like shit that day, I wrote a big chunk of this chapter that day, trying to get it done by then, but obviously I failed. After that, I wanted to update on Christmas, failed that too. Forget about New Year... But, hey I was able to do it 3 days after New Year, that's gotta count for something, right?**

 **To RoyalFox89: Thank you!**

 **To JamieValdez: Dude. Thanks for the blue cookies, they were delicious! As for me not dying, it was touch and go there for a moment in July, but I held on just for you! ;) And I thought I saw your tiger at my window, turns out it was my cat, so I still don't know where it is. I am worried.**

 **To Pregnantnun227: Well, shiit dude. Your review was longer than my last chapter... If it helps, yes you had to wait even longer for this chapter, but, BUT, it's a helluva lot longer than the last one! In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter of this story to date :D And nahh, don't worry about it, I too am an adult, at least technically. I've recently become 19, so yell away my man, yell away ;) Sorry for making you angry tho :/ I want you to know tho, that you will be getting your regular fix from now on, so, yayy! As for my cliffhanger skillz, well you tell me if I still have em or not heh. And I so am the type to be persuaded by money! I don't want to be hurt! I hate pain. Pain sucks, no pain. Seriously. Thanks for giving me an extension on the deadline to put out this chapter!**

 **To InfernalHorror: *whispers* I hope this was long enough *awkward smile***

 **To SonOfHades1: Missed ya too ;) Please don't kill tho. Well, not yet at least..**

 **To NONAME2002: Duuuude, noooooo, chill bro chill, I got you! I'm back, I'm back! Don't bring out the beast!**

 **To .Ba: Will do!**

 **To JayDuck: I will, I promised I was gonna finish this story and I just know it'll haunt me forever if I don't follow through!**

 **To Yurmomiscanonking: Omg, I couldn't resist that face anymore. Here, here you go sweetie! I won't leave you anymore!**

 **To Diamond: It was tempting sometimes, I'll admit, but I can't, I just can't give up on this story. This is part of my legacy! I can't give up on that! I've put in too much time on this baby just to give it away so flippantly! This is my baby! So, no matter how hard it'll get, I WILL finish this story!**

 **To Guest: Fun fact: I wrote this story after a marathon of old teen movies, I don't know if I ever wrote that in an author's note. It's kind of reflected on some of the themes in this story. Now, obviously some of the things they taught in those movies are outdated, their views on virginity among others, but back then I didn't know any better. This story would've been a helluva lot more different if I had started now than 2 years ago. I don't agree with a lot of the things I wrote back then, but it'd take way too much time to change this story. Do I personally think it's a big deal if someone's a virgin at 16? Hell no! But, in the movies I watched back then, the movies that kinda gave me inspiration for this story in the first place, it was a big deal. Maybe one day, I'll rewrite this story to correspond with my views on the matter, but right now, I really want to finish it :)**

 **You know, I've always wondered why my fans are so aggressive... Well, it's nice to know you're all so passionate about this story! Now, I know the flashbacks don't really make sense when they're watching a video, but I've been agonising over this issue for days. I had no idea how I had to write the video scenes and somehow work people's POV's in those scenes. I suppose I hope you'll all assume that when there's a flashback, only the character experiences that flashback, while the other characters just see everything in the video without the character's thoughts. This would've been a lot easier if this was an actual video instead of me writing it, but hey, waddaya gonna do? This is fanfiction after all. And yes, I know, I know, I could've just not put those POV's, but I dunno, it seemed kinda stupid to have the characters experience flashbacks of this video in the next chapter, when they've just seen it. I wanted to show how some of the characters reacted in the moment it happened, hence the flashbacks during the video. Tell me what you guys thought of that. Loved it. Hated it. didn't think much of it. Whatever comes to mind ;)**

 **Whew, well that's it for this chapter! Once again, I'm really sorry for making you all wait this goddamn long! I'm planning on updating next week, probably Friday. It'll be touch and go for the last 2 weeks of January cause of my exams, but me being a chronic procrastinator might actually really help this story heh heh. Anyway, I've taken enough of your time already! I hope you have a nice -whatever time it is, wherever the hell you are-, and please take care! Thanks for reading and for reviewing! Oh and thanks for sticking by this story for this long, like seriously, thank you.**

 **Joy**


	39. Chapter 39

FLASHBACK **Annabeth's POV**

" _Rachel's still here."_

 _I looked at Percy, wondering what he would do, how he would react._

" _..."_

" _... um guys, who's Rachel again?" Percy whispered nervously, probably cause everyone was looking at him._

" _What? You're kidding right? You **JUST** said her name! Like her first  and last name!" Nico asked incredulously._

 _Percy looked honestly confused. "I did? When?"_

" _...how much did you have to drink tonight?" Hazel asked him._

" _Umm... Well... I dunno... Can't remember much after going to the kitchen..." Percy frowned. "Can't remember much of anything actually. Huh. Weird..."_

" _Oh, that's where I come in!" Piper exclaimed. "Yeah, Leo and Nico asked me to prep him for the game-"_

" _Um, wait what?" Jason interrupted._

" _Yeah, what do you mean prep him?!" I asked with a glare aimed at Piper._

 _She raised a left eyebrow at me, "Uh, I dunno, what do you think I meant with that?"_

" _Depends, what did you do?!"_

" _Geez, chill out Annabeth. I didn't make out with him, Gods! I never thought of him that way, we're just friends. Guys and girls can be just friends, without having to be family, you know." Piper emphasized the word friends, giving me a pointed look._

 _Aaaand cue me feeling like a total bitch. Fuck, what am I doing?! Piper's one of my best friends, I don't want to fight with her. And for what? Percy? What is wrong with me?! I really need to talk to Percy. I do not like what this is doing to me! I shouldn't even be jealous. He's not even mine._

" _Anyways, as I was saying BEFORE I got interrupted-", Piper started again with a pointed glare aimed at Jason and me (and yeah, okay we deserved that), "-after Leo and Nico asked me to prep Percy for the game, I took him to the kitchen and we did like eight shots of a mixture of Red bull, vodka aaaand a bunch of food coloring."_

" _Wow, hold up, wait a minute, that was NOT what I meant when I told you to go get Percy!" Leo shouted, suddenly remembering what Piper was talking about._

" _... It wasn't?" She said confusedly._

" _No! I just wanted you to go **get** him!" Leo explained._

" _Oh... Shit... My bad hehe..." Piper said sheepishly._

" _All right, okay so 8 shots of vodka? That's all?" Jason asked._

" _Oh, wait! Thals made me some totally rad cocktails! I drank like, 4 of them I think..." Percy exclaimed adorably. Wait, hold up, what? Adorably? No, I meant to say excitedly. Yeah, Percy was excited. Not adorable. Never adorable._

" _Oh, yeah!" Thalia said. "That's right! To calm you down I made you like a couple of Long Island Ice teas."_

" _The first one sucked ass."Percy commented. "But after the third one, it got good. Really good."_

" _It's all about practice dude." Thalia replied._

" _Ooooh, now I want one!" Piper squealed._

" _Yeah, me too!" I stated._

" _Uhm, guys are we not gonna talk about the fact that Rachel is still in the country?" Grover wondered. I glared at him. Damn it Grover, why do you always have to bring us back to subject?!_

" _Again, who is Rachel?" Percy asked worriedly._

" _Give us a sec. Percy." I told him. "Guys, a word. Derek, sweetie can you please stay with Percy while we talk? Great thanks!"_

 _"Give us a sec. Annabeth, I need to speak with Nico. Alone." Thalia said seriously. I looked at them confusedly._

 _"Uhm, yeah okay just meet us outside then."_

 _And then she dragged Nico away to the closet. Probably to murder him for not kissing her. Weird, I mean first they say they don't want to kiss each other and fight all the time, and now that Nico refused to kiss her, they're still gonna fight. Sigh, sometimes I wish those two would just work things out and get together already. Ugh, it is SO frustrating when people are oblivious to the obvious. Go figure._

 _Everyone else went to the garden, where it was_ _relatively_ _quiet._

" _Guys, I don't think we should tell Percy who Rachel is." I told them._

" _What?!" Leo exploded. "Why?!"_

" _Yeah, what the hell Annabeth?!" Piper shouted._

 _Everyone had similar reactions._

" _Guys, think about it. Think about how **devastated** Percy was the first time!" I shouted back. "He looked so goddamn **broken**! I can't stand seeing him that way! Gods, if anyone deserves to be happy it's him! And what do you guys think will happen when he sees Rachel huh? Go ahead, tell me honestly, how do you guys think it'll turn out  this time?"_

 _Everyone was quiet after my outburst. And then Thalia and Nico came stomping out._

" _Uhm, are you guys ok?" Jason asked uneasily._

" _Just peachy." Nico answered back with gritted teeth._

" _Uhh...you sure?" Grover asked, until he saw the glare Thalia and Nico sent his way." Never mind, you guys seem fine..."_

" _Just... fill us in, what did you want to talk about Annabeth?" Thalia said with an exasperated tone._

 _So I told 'em what I told everyone else. They pretty much had the same reaction._

" _You want to what?!" Nico roared._

" _What is the matter with you?!" Thalia barked._

" _I'm just looking out for him, okay? It's for the best if he forgets about her for now." I told them earnestly._

" _But that's not our choice to make..." Piper answered._

" _I don't want him to get hurt though." I said, with tears in my eyes. Gods, why can't they see I'm just trying to protect him?! That I know this is for the best?!_

" _Listen Annabeth, I don't want Percy to get hurt either," Jason started, "but Percy would hate us forever if he ever found out that we prevented him from seeing Rachel."_

" _But.. still... Do you guys honestly think this'll turn out well?" I asked everyone._

 _Hazel sighed. "Honestly? No, I don't think so, but it doesn't matter what we think right can't make this choice for him! We're not gods, Annabeth."_

" _Yeah, if he gets hurt, then he gets hurt. We'll be there for him." Leo said softly._

" _Just like last time." Frank added just as softly._

 _I sighed. I guess they're right... Maybe my pride is getting in the way here... But..."Fine, but if he doesn't remember who she is right now, after just saying her name, well, then maybe there's a reason. I mean, think about it, maybe he doesn't want to remember her right now?"_

" _Annabeth, none of us want to see him get hurt either, but he's drunk out of his mind right now." Grover reasoned._

" _Yeah, because he wants to forget Rachel!" I exclaimed._

 _Everyone shared a look. "What was that look?" I said suspiciously._

" _Uhm... Well... I don't think Rachel is the reason he's drunk out of his mind right now..." Piper said slowly._

" _And I don't think Rachel is the reason he forget well...Rachel." Leo added just as slowly._

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _Gods, you can be so oblivious sometimes." Thalia said, rolling her eyes._

" _What do you mean?"_

 _Nico stomped his way towards me. Before he could say anything, Leo shouted "Nico don't! Don't you dare say anything!"_

" _Yeah, it's not you place to say!" Jason added._

" _No! I'm sick of this! I'm sick of him getting hurt like this! If he's not gonna follow the plan we made for him, then she has to know!" Nico fumed_

" _Not like this dude. Not like this." Frank told him._

" _Not again." Leo added seriously. "Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern and three times is a habit. Percy won't forgive you a third time."_

 _Nico sighed, his shoulders drooped. "Dammit. You're right. Godsdamnit, you're right!"_

" _WHAT ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT?!" I barked._

 _Nico was fuming, gods why does he look so mad?  
"Nico calm down." Thalia told him._

" _Yeah, don't do or say anything you might regret." Piper said, looking him straight in the eyes._

" _It's cool, I'm cool. Seriously, I won't say anything this time." Nico insisted, but why was he glaring at me._

" _Guys, please, can you please tell me what's going on?" I actually pleaded, because I'm desperate right now. Everyone seems to know something about Percy and I want, no, need to know what. "Please?"_

 _Thalia looked at me with a sympathetic gaze. Um, okay weird. "I'm really sorry Annabeth, but we promised Percy not to tell you."_

" _Tell me what?!"_

" _Uh, we can't really tell you, cause, well.. we promised?" Leo said._

" _I won't tell him you told me. Percy won't find out!"_

" _Ohhh, trust me, he will." Frank insisted._

" _How? Why? What-"_

 _Derek stuck his head trough the door and interrupted me before I could finish that sentence._

" _Uhh, I don't want to alarm you guys, but... I may or may not have lost Percy... Closer to may." he said sheepishly._

" _What?!" Everyone shouted at him._

" _How? How do you even lose a person?!" Nico asked him._

 _Derek cleared his throat. "Uhm, well, I don't know!"_

" _Derek. What happened?" I questioned him slowly._

" _I don't know! I don't know! One minute we're talking about my sick tats and cars and then I went up to get some water for us and when I got back he was gone! I don't know where or why!" He said, looking incredibly sorry. "Seriously, I didn't mean to lose him! I'm sorry!"_

 _Leo sighed. "No, it's fine, we shouldn't have stayed out here this long, knowing Percy was drunk out of his mind. Gods, he doesn't even remember that much!"_

" _Ah, shit. You think he remembers where he lives?" Thalia wondered._

" _...no, probably not, ah dammit!" Nico cursed._

" _Ok, ok, ok... Don't panic guys, DO NOT PANIC!" Jason was totally panicking right now._

" _We have to look for him!" Hazel exclaimed._

" _How? Most of us are way too drunk to drive!" Piper screeched._

" _This party sucks!" Leo exclaimed._

" _Calm down! Everyone, just calm the fuck down!" I shouted. "Let's think about this rationally. Yes, we can't all drive, but not everyone drank something tonight so if we split up accordingly we'll find Percy in no time. Besides, Percy can't drive anyways, so he'll probably be on foot. We should be able to find him in no time. I mean, how far can one drunken teen even go, am I right?"_

 _Everyone seemed to calm down after what I said. "Yeah, yeah, you're right Annabeth!" Grover said excitedly._

" _All right then, now that everyone is calm and rational we can all split up and go look for him! The longer we're just standing here, the further he can go."_

" _What are we waiting for, let's go!" Leo shouted._

" _Wait, how do we split up?" Hazel wondered._

" _Ah, shit... Uhm, let's see... Leo, you haven't had anything to drink, so you can drive a car with Piper and Jason towards North , Grover you'll drive another car with Frank and Hazel, no scratch that you'll go with uhm Thalia and Frank towards West, Hazel you're with Nico, you guys' will go East and me and Derek will go towards South. That ok with everyone?" I proposed quickly._

 _Everyone agreed and so we all went our separate ways._

 _-Line Break-_

 _Derek and I were driving around in his Porsche, when I saw a figure stumbling out of a tattoo parlor with raven black hair and... a Pineapple in his hand? What? My heart leaped into my throat when I saw unmistakable sea green eyes.. Seaweed Brain._

" _Derek stop the car, I think I found him! Stay here ok? I'll bring him here."_

" _All right babe, I'll find a place to park and call the others."_

" _Thank you." And then I was off, running towards Percy, who was leaning against the wall for support, before deciding to sit agains the wall on the pavement._

 _I ran over to him and sat beside him._

" _Annabeth?"_

" _Hey, Percy, how you feeling?"_

" _I'm good, I'm good... How are you?"_

" _Uh, well, pretty good too.."_

" _Ok..."_

" _So... what were you doing at a tattoo parlor?"_

" _Oh, well I got a tattoo of course."_

" _YOU WHAT?!" I screamed._

 _Percy winced. "Ow, why'd you scream?"_

" _WHY?! Why would you get a tattoo?!"_

 _Percy just mumbled._

" _I didn't hear that."_

" _Because.. Maybe I want something permanent for once! Besides, Derek has tattoos..."_

" _So? What does Derek have to do with this?"_

" _EVERYTHING!" He shouted._

" _What do you mean? You...want to be more like Derek?"_

" _Yes! No... ugh- it's just... He has everything Annabeth! Everything that matters most!"_

" _What're you talking about? You're not making any sense right now Percy!"_

" _I can't... I can't find the words Annabeth! I never could! Not the right ones anyway..."_

" _Well try!"_

 _Percy just looked down dejectedly, before deciding to stand up._

" _What're you doing?" I asked warily, standing up myself._

" _I don't know anymore Annabeth... I don't know..." he said exasperated._

 _I looked at him, really looked at him, and I saw how miserable he was. How broken he seemed. And all I could think was how much I wanted to take him into my arms and shield him from this cruel world. How much I wished he'd kissed me..._

" _Why didn't you kiss me?" I asked him uncertainly, the hurt seeping through._

 _He looked at me, with a storm in his eyes. His gaze was so intense, that it just washed away everything around me. I got lost in him, but it was the kind of lost that's exactly like being found... It was as if he and I were the only two people in the world. It took my breath away, I've never felt like this before. Just him and me. Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl.  
Nothing else mattered right now._

" _Do you really want to know?" He leaned in closer to me, his voice low._

" _Yes. More than anything in the world right now." I whispered back, our faces were impossibly close right now._

" _I didn't kiss you, Wise Girl," he whispered sadly as he leaned in, "because if I did, well... I don't know if I'd ever be able to stop."_

 _My eyes widened and when I looked into his eyes, I saw a quiet resignation in them, nothing at all like the storm before. His eyes were trying to tell me things his lips were afraid to say. I just didn't know what, and it was driving me crazy. I feel like we're so close to something, but... I don't know what or how to describe it. We always had problems with communication..._

 _Before I could say anything back, we were interrupted by everyone shouting "Percy! There you are!"_

 _Whatever I wanted to say to him, whatever else he wanted to tell me, it all went away when everyone came running. We almost had something there. Something almost happened there.  
Almost._

 _The spell was broken. That's how it always seems to be when it comes to Percy and I._

 _Almost._

 _We all went our separate ways, and Percy?_

 _He avoided all eye contact with me. Maybe it's for the best._

 _I woke up the next morning, in my bed, with Derek beside me._

 _Derek and I._

 _This is how it's supposed to be._

 _Right?_

END FLASHBACK

 **Percy's POV**

…

Rachel...  
Oh my gods, Rachel!  
She's still...here?  
Oh Gods, what should I should I do?  
What should I do?!

I still have a chance, I can run after her, I can catch her!  
But...  
Should I?

Does she want me to?  
Do I want to?  
No, never mind..  
That's a stupid question, of course I want to!

But...  
Should I?  
I mean...  
Nothing's changed...

I'm still hung up on a girl who's taken...  
She's still going to travel the world, and live out her dream

Nothing's changed.

But...

And that's the problem. There's still a but. There will always **be** a but. I have to see her. Just one more time. Just once, before she leaves. I don't want to live with yet another regret.

Yes! If I see her, it'll be clear.  
Everything will make sense.  
I'll know what to do.

Or maybe it'll make everything harder.

Worse.

Fuck, what should I do?! Gods, I wish the universe would just send me a sign.

"Wow... Never know when you're allowed to speak in these situations..." Leo whispered loudly to Jason. Everyone looked at him. "Maybe wait a lil longer..." he muttered.

"Gee.. ya think?" Jason whispered back loudly.

Nico cleared his throat. "So... Uhh..Well... Perce... What are you gonna do?"

"I don't... I don't know... What do you guys think I should do?!" I asked them all desperately. Yes, maybe they can help me make this impossible choice.

Everyone shared a look.

"Percy... we can't make that choice for you." Hazel said slowly.

"Why not? I want you guys to make this choice for me! Please?" I pleaded.

Annabeth gave everyone a triumphant look, as if to say 'See? Told ya so!'. What was that about?

She opened her mouth, but before she could Nico interrupted her, saying "Annabeth. Don't. Don't you fucking dare."

"He asked for our help you guys! HE asked this time. You can't deny that."

"It's still not up to us!" Jason insisted.

"Oh my gods! I cannot believe this, even when he's asking- no BEGGING for our help you guys still want to insist on doing nothing?!" Annabeth exploded.

"He HAS to make this choice himself! He'll regret it if he doesn't! For the rest of his life!" Piper stressed.

"I just want what's best for him!" Annabeth shouted.

"No. No, you don't!" Nico fumed.

"What? Yes. I do!" Annabeth insisted.

Nico scoffed, "Oh? Really? And this has nothing to do with the fact that you're jealous and possessive of him huh?"

"What?"

"Oh, don't play dumb Annabeth. Everyone can see it. You're not even trying to hide it. You can't have your cake AND eat it too! You have to make a decision!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes. You do! You can't possibly be this stupid!"

"Who are YOU to call me stupid? Who do you think you are?!"

By now Nico and Annabeth were glaring into each other's eyes, they looked ready to kill each other. What the hell is their problem?!

"Nico. Stop." Thalia ordered.

"What?" He said incredulously. "You've gotta be kidding me right now."

"She's had enough." Thalia told him seriously.

His eyes widened, before they narrowed. "No. No, she hasn't. You know how I know? Because she keeps doing it. I'll stop, when she stops hurting him."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What the hell are you guys talking about?" I shouted.

And suddenly it seemed as if they remembered I was still in the room with them. Everyone froze.

"Uhh, guys... Are you okay?" I asked them all.

Nico cleared his throat before answering. "Uh, yeah, sorry Perce... Guess we're still uhh, a little bit cranky from yesterday..."

"Yeah..." Annabeth agreed reluctantly.

Everyone made sounds of agreement

I looked at them weirdly. "Uhh... okay then... Back to the matters at hand, guys what should I do about Rachel?"

"Just follow your hart man." Frank told me.

"My heart? It's a mess right now!"

"Oh... what about your head? Follow your head." Hazel advised.

"Uhm... right now it's chaos in there..."

"Dios mio, Percy. You already KNOW what to do!" Leo told me seriously. "Maybe... Maybe you just don't want to admit you do."

I sighed. "You guys think I shouldn't do anything." It wasn't a question, but I got my answer when I looked at everyone and their reactions. It was pretty obvious what they thought.

I looked out the window, the clouds were gathering, but by now the sun was starting to set. We wasted all day on this video.

"Percy... What are you thinking right now?" Piper asked.

"I think... I think I really need a drink right about now." I answered honestly.

"Oh, ok. I'll go grab us a drink!" Annabeth said softly.

Heh, isn't this funny? Last time, when I was with Rachel, I drank to forget about Annabeth. Now? Annabeth's gonna get me a drink to forget about Rachel.

Oh, irony... what a cruel mistress indeed.

-Line Break-

I drank and I drank and I drank, but I still couldn't get her out of my mind. Gods, why can't I get her out of my mind?!

We were all currently eating Chinese take out, and binge watching Stranger Things. We took shots any time anyone lit up a cigaret. We uhh, we got wasted pretty quickly...

I looked out the window during one of our peeing breaks, and I saw that it was raining. And suddenly I thought back to the last time I saw Rachel. Huh, it rained back then too. Hold up. Wait a minute. Wait a sec...

Oh. My. Gods.

This is it.

A sign from the universe.

It has to be!

"Guys, was it supposed to rain today?" I asked urgently.

Leo furrowed his eyebrows. "Uhh I dunno, why do you ask?"

"Can someone please check? I need to know. Right now." By now, I was sitting up, staring at them with wide eyes.

"Uh, okay let me check." Thalia said. "Huh, it wasn't supposed to rain today. Weird."

I gasped.

"Percy... are you okay?" Grover asked slowly.

"I have to go. I have to!" I jabbered, grabbing my jacket and putting on my shoes.

"Percy, slow down, no one can understand what you're saying." Nico pointed out.

I took a deep breath and said excitedly ,"Guys. It's raining!"

"Yes... yes it is raining." Piper said slowly.

Oh my gods. How are they not getting it?! "It's a sign you guys! A sign from the universe! I have to go see Rachel! The last time I saw her it was raining too!"

Annabeth looked at me weirdly. "Uhh, what? Just because it's raining? Percy, it could just be a coincidence."

I frowned at her. "Yeah, except it wasn't supposed to rain today, Thalia said so! I asked the universe a sign, and it delivered. Now I've gotta do my part!"

"Woah, hold up Perce-" Jason started, but I interrupted him.

"Guys, you can't convince me otherwise. I'm going. With or without you guys." I avowed.

I stopped when I reached the door. "On second thought... It's probably for the best if you guys didn't come with. It'd be hella awkward if you guys were there." I reasoned.

Nico stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Percy."

I turned and looked at him. "Are you sure about this?"

I looked him in the eyes. "More than anything else right now." He stared back.

He must've seen the determination in my eyes because he just gave me a small smile and said "All right then cuz. Good luck. From all of us. Right guys?"

A murmur of agreement could be heard in the background by everyone.. Well, everyone except for Annabeth. But that's okay.

It hurts a little less now.

Looking at her, hurt a little less.

And that felt pretty great.

 **Nico's POV**

I looked my cousin straight in the eyes, because I was wondering if I'd see any doubts in there like the last time he went down this road.

But there wasn't any.

None whatsoever.

And I had to smile at that. Because that's what was holding him back, you know? That's why I couldn't support him last time. He wasn't sure. I don't know what happened when he got that tattoo, but he seems a lot more assured of things now. Like he finally made a decision. Like he's found a little bit of peace in this mess of a world.

I was really proud of him.

"All right then cuz. Good luck. From all of us. Right guys?"

Everyone agreed. Except for Annabeth. Of course not. Why would she be happy for Percy?

I sighed at that. Why did they have to make it so difficult?

And then I started to think about... Her. Again.

Thalia Grace.

No. I don't want to think about her right now.

I went into the kitchen to make myself a drink to chase those thoughts away. So, of course she'd also be in there.

Fun-fucking-tastic.

I clenched my jaw.

I looked at her, and dammit.

After all this time, she's still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She may not be the ultimate girl next door anymore, but she's still fucking art. She's confusion, beauty and goddamn soul. There wasn't a predictable thing about her. It was chaos and that made her infinitely more interesting than anyone I've ever met.

She never ceased to take my breath away.

She never ceased to make feel.

Something. Anything.

 **Everything**.

She glared at me with those eyes. Those goddamn eyes that promised death, but gave me a reason to live.

I should walk away. But I never could. I definitely can't now. Not when I've held her in my arms. Not when I've tasted her lips. Not when I've heard her tell me things she's never told anyone before. Not when I've seen those eyes filled with so much love, that I could drown in it.

"Why? Why wouldn't you kiss me Nico? No bullshit this time. The truth." Gods, even her steely voice did something to me. Have you ever been so wildly attracted to someone you can actually feel it driving you insane?

I sighed. She deserved the truth. "Honestly? I... I'm afraid Thalia. I'm afraid you'll hurt me. I know you'd never do it on purpose. But you will. You will hurt me. You have before. And I can't... I can't bring myself to trust you again. Not with the past hanging over our head. I don't know if I can. And that, is it. That's why... That's why I didn't want anyone else about our relationship. If we told people... then it would be real. There'd be more to lose."

She looked at me with those eyes again. Filled with tears, she refused to let fall. And all I wanted was to wipe them away. She's shed too many of them already. I just wanted to grab her, comfort her and shield her from everything and everyone that hurt her.

But I couldn't.

Not anymore.

Something changed.

I saw it in her eyes. In the way she clenched her jaw. In the way she took a deep shuddering breath. In the small moment she looked at her reflection in the window. Thalia always hated mirrors. She hated looking at herself. She hated recognizing her mother in her reflection.

"Okay." She said, her voice impossibly small, broken. It didn't sound right. It didn't sound like the Thalia Grace I knew.

I hate that I made her feel this way. But I couldn't hold it in anymore. She deserves the truth more than anything else. All I wanted to do is hug her. But she stood up and walked away with her head held up high.

And I just stood here craving alcohol. Cigarets.

Anything to make me feel a little less again.

Anything to forget.

 **Percy's POV**

I exited the cab, end took a deep breath. It was currently still raining, and the cold definitely sobered me up a lot.

Enough to know I still wanted to see her.

Enough to know that this was still a great idea.

'Don't die wondering.' I don't remember who said that, but I'm gonna do my best to live by those words.

Okay, no going back.

I am absolutely terrified. I don't know what I'm going to say or do. Before I could do something stupid that I might regret forever, like walk away, I rang the doorbell.

Suddenly that sound brought all of my doubts to the forefront of my mind.

'What if she doesn't want to see you?'

'What if you're ruining her plans right now?'

'What if she hates you know?'

'What if-'

Before I could spiral further and further down this bottomless pit of 'What ifs', Rachel opened the door and I forgot it all.

"Wow." Well, glad to know I've become more eloquent since the last time I saw her.

"Percy." She gasped, looking at me as if I was a figment of her imagination. Maybe she's thought of this moment before.  
I know I have.

And then she must've realized how hard it was raining and how soaked I must be by now.

"Oh my gods Percy, get inside! You'll catch a cold."

I shook my head. "I don't care Rachel. Can we pretend like nothing happened? I know you're leaving soon, but for the short time we still have together, can we just... act like everything's okay and nothing else matters?"

Her face softened. "Percy-" I interrupted her, because her tone was the same like that day. Rueful.

"You say that, but we can make it work! I know we can! Just give me one more chance? Please? Just until you have to leave." I pleaded with my best puppy dog eyes.

And then she said four words that made my blood go cold.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Oh." I ran my hand through my hair, knowing I should leave. There's nothing I can do. She's leaving. Tomorrow. And yet...

She looked at me, her eyes full of regret. "I'm so sorry Percy."

I shook my head, because she has no reason to apologize. It's my fault. I could've called her any time I wanted to. But I didn't. "No, Rachel, don't apologize. Seriously, it's not your fault."

She bit her lip. "Do you want to come inside?"

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe I shouldn't..."

"Please? I don't want you to get sick."

"...Okay"

-Line Break-

Entering Rachel's place was exactly like looking at the sky. It was constantly changing. One minute it could be calm, blue and bright, and then the next it could be black and thundering and just utter chaos.

She constantly changed her room theme. One week it could be very calm, almost hippy-ish? You'd see fairy lights everywhere, polaroids,mugs of coffee and quotes all over the wall. And the next, well... You'd see heavy black curtains and pitch black walls with lightning streaks. It just changes so much.

But now, all I saw was boxes.

I saw how empty her place was.

And suddenly it hit me. It really hit me.

She was leaving.

She was really leaving.

I sat down at her kitchen table, dazed.

She must've seen something in my eyes, because she bit her lip again and asked "Hey, do want some thee? Oh sorry, I mean hot cocoa?"

And I had to smile a little at that. "Yeah, I'd love some with-"

"-a dash of cinnamon and three mini marshmallows." She finished for me. She rembered.

"Heh, you remembered."

"Of course I did. I still have the packet of blue marshmallows I bought for you!"

I laughed. "I still can't believe you actually imported them from Greece!"

"Hey, I knew how much you loved blue anything. So, I thought, why not blue marshmallows?"

"Best idea ever."

She smiled and put down my mug of hot cocoa, and sat down beside me. "You know me, anything for the aesthetic."

I snorted. I knew all too well what she meant. I was currently staring at her boxes of fairy lights. She had four boxed dedicated to them. I mean, at this point that's just overkill.

She shoved me lightly. "Don't make fun Percy! Or, I won't give you the rest of my marshmallows."

My eyes widened in horror. "No! You can't take away the blue marshmallows! Anything but that! That's too cruel Rachel."

She just smiled evilly, while holding my beloved blue marshmallows hostage in her arms.

"Come on Rachel. Please? Don't take away my marshmallows!" Whatever anyone says, I didn't whine.

She just stuck her tongue out at me. Wow. Real mature. "You've gotta catch me first."

And then she ran away. Psh, as if I'd run after her.

What are we, five?

…

I caved. I ran after her. She screamed when she saw how close I got. Hell yeah, all this hard work has paid off.

I finally caught her and we both fell on her bed. The marshmallows all but forgotten now. We looked in each other's eyes.

And suddenly the carefree atmosphere disappeared. It was replaced by tension. But, not the bad kind, if that makes sense? Like, yeah I had adrenaline pumping, but I wasn't scared for my life.

It was scary, in the best way possible. Like riding a rollercoaster.

I gulped. I wanted to kiss her. Like, really badly. I imagine it would be like my first kiss. The butterflies. The world just disappearing. The rain as background music. I imagine it would be like coming back home.

"Percy.." Rachel said in a warning tone even though her eyes kept on looking at my lips.

"Rachel, why not?"

"Why not? Because.. it'd be... icky?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Really? That's the reason you're going for? Icky?" I said incredulously.

She shook her head. "You know what I mean! I'm like an adult, you're a teen!"

"Rachel, it's just a year and a half It's not like you're 25 and I'm 15!"

"Is this really how you want your first time to be though? I'm leaving tomorrow."

I leaned in, so that my forehead was resting against hers. "Rachel, I don't care about that. It doesn't matter, okay? First time or last time, all that matters is that it's with you. That we're together, now."

She sighed. "I don't believe in long-distance relationships."

I shook my head. "I know. I know why. And I won't ask you to be in a long-distance relationship. You're a free spirit Rachel, I'd never try to chain you down. Not when you're about to leave. Not ever. I won't stand in the way of your dream. I just... I just want to hold you. To kiss you. You. Just one more time. Just this once. While I still have the chance. Just.. tell me to leave and I'll leave. Tell me stop, and I'll stop. I promise."

She bit her lips again. Gods, those lips are driving me crazy, in the best way possible. "Perseus..." She whispered slowly, prolonging each letter as if to savor them.

I smiled, my heart fluttering at her voice as I clasped my hands on either side of her face. Never before has my name ever sounded so wonderful was all I could think, as I leaned in.

I kissed her and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words could never be. My hand rested below her ear, my thumb caressing her cheek as our breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down my spine, pulling me closer until there was no space left between us and I know she could feel the beating of my heart against her chest, because it was beating like crazy.

I knew she'd have to leave tomorrow. I knew I'd have to let her go.

But, I guess that's just a part of loving people... You have to give things up.

Sometimes, you even have to give them up.

Tonight though, I'd fight for her.

Even if it has to be with a kiss.

* * *

 **Well...I'll leave what happens next to your imaginations ;) I know it isn't Friday, but procrastination really does wonders you know? Another longer chapter, and frankly I hope they'll all be as long as this one! There isn't as much humour like the other ones, because well... I kinda felt like this was more of a serious kind of chapter. shut up. yes, I know how to write THOSE too! Sort of. I think. But hey, I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter? Do you think I should insert more 'serious' kind of chapters or stick to funny ones? Be sure to let me know!**

 **Also, no I won't right lemons. In case any of you were wondering. I'd suck at them, trust me. I already feel uneasy writing kissing scenes, cause well.. I dunno how to write them. And I sure hell won't ask my mom advice for that. I make things awkward enough without trying. As for when I'll update the next chapter.. Probably not this Friday. Probably. Maybe next week Thursday after my first exam. I'll definitely be procrastinating after bombing an exam ;) Anyways, thanks for reading so far, I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! I'm kind of surprised how many chapters there are already, and how many chapters I still have to write till I reach the end. There's still senior year after all. Gods, it kinda feels like we've only reached the half of the fanfic... Who knows, maybe one day I'll fix the grammar and spelling mistakes in the fanfic, rewrite a couple of things, add some stuff here and there. Once the fanfic is done of course ;)**

 **Now onto the reviews:**

 **To SonOfHades1: Yass dude, I'm back ;) I missed writing this story too! Sorry for the cliffy, but by know I feel like that's my signature move. but, hey I didn't put a cliffhanger here, but I was SO tempted to hehe.**

 **To Starbreaker195: Surprise! Hehe. Glad to hear my writing skills haven't rusted too much :D And as for the endgame for this story, I've read my old notes for this story and also thought about it long and hard. I won't tell you what the endgame is (you'll have to read that;) but I will tell you there will be many twist and turns before reaching the end. After all, there's still senior year :D**

 **To NONAME2002: I am forever grateful you've decided to stop your other self from killing me. Truly. I'm also glad you liked rereading the story. I cringed when I reread it, but maybe that's cause I'm the one who wrote it. Grammar and spelling mistakes and all.  
**

 **I know what you mean tho, about that scene with Piper and Percy. I feel like that sometimes. And it fucking sucks, but it has to be felt. There's a reason for it. One day we'll either find someone to comfort us, or we'll just learn how to do it ourselves.**

 **If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here for you dude:)**

 **As for the cliffhangers: You'll be glad to know there aren't any here! I know ! *gasp* What? Can it be? I she going insane? Nope, I just decided to have some mercy, and voila! I will admit, I was suuuper tempted to put a cliffhanger in. I'm glad I could surprise you with Piper! :D As for how their relationship will progress, well... I guess you'll just have to wait and see ;P**

 **To Ja,ieValdez: The rumours are true! I'm back! For good. For real tho, you have a moustache? That is SO freakin AWESOME! Sorry to hear your day sucked tho. What happened? And yeah, I thought, new year, new chance to finish this story. Or die trying! Altho not really, cause I don't know how that would even happen. And uhh... it's okay, I'm sure your tiger is a lot happier in 2018 ;) Seriously. Don't bring the tiger. Bring the fishes instead :D**

 **All right, that's it for today and for this chapter. To all the people that have reviewed so far, are reviewing or are planning on reviewing: Thank you so so much! Seriously. I really really really appreciate the feedback, especially now that my writing skills have kinda gone rusty. I love seeing what you guys want to see, don't want to see, liked, disliked, or even just thought of it. It really helps me stay motivated, so from the bottom of my heart: Thank you. Again lol. Okay, I'm gonna go to sleep now, cause where I live it's 1am! I couldn't stop writing cause I just had this stroke of inspiration and i just kept writing, and went with it, and well... This chapter was born! I apologise for any grammar and spelling mistakes you WILL undoubtedly find. Anyhow, good night/day/evening/morning/midday/breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner/boy/girl/whatever-word-you-want-to-put-behind-the-word-'good' lol, and take care! I'll see you in the next one!**

 **Joy.**

 **P.s. : I just saw a mistake and corrected it, I didn't add anything new, sorry if it confused you :/**


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters... Damn, I wish I did though, not gonna lie.**

 **Annabeth's POV**

He _left_.

He actually left.

I can't believe it.

The rain finally let up, so I was currently outside of the building, smoking a cigarette alone. And really, that is how I felt right now. Alone.

Gods, what is wrong with me?! I'm not even this jealous when Derek talks to other girls and I love him!

And then the last person I wanted to see came outside and sat beside me.

Piper.

"What are you doing here?" I growled.

She looked at me. "We have to talk Annabeth."

"We have nothing to talk about."

She sighed. "Annabeth, I'm not your enemy, okay?"

"Look, Annabeth you're one of my best friends! I'm not gonna let a boy get in the way of that. Gods, I don't even like Percy, well... I don't like him _that_ way."

"How could you not? He's like nobody else in the world. He's annoying and hilarious and sweet, and yeah, sometimes the biggest idiot on the planet but he also has the biggest heart ever. He'd do literally anything to make someone smile and his eyes could light up the world. He's just so...Percy. How could you not like him _that_ way?"

She shrugged, but I saw her smile that same soft smile she gave him before, "I'm not gonna lie, yeah Percy's hot and amazing and funny, and maybe if things were different, I'd go for it, but right now I can't because he's... Well, because he's Percy."

I frowned. "So? How is that a bad thing? How can _that_ be a bad thing?"

"It's not, but... His heart is already spoken for at the moment, and I refuse to be some consolation prize. If he's gonna look my way with those eyes, then I want them to be filled with passion , for me and only me. I imagine they'd take my breath away if he ever did look at me like that. But that sure as hell won't happen for me, right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hey, you're the Wise Girl here... Figure it out. But that's not why I came out here, or, at least not the only reason."

"Uh, okay... so why did you come out here?"

"To warn you Annabeth."

"Warn me?"

"Yeah, I'll always have your back Annabeth, but if you keep acting like this you might not only lose Percy, but also your _actual_ boyfriend. Derek."

"What are you talking about?"

She sighed exasperatedly. "Look, I may not be all that good at reading books, but I can read people pretty well. And Derek? He's hella confused right now when it comes to you and how you react when it comes to Percy, but sooner or later he will find out. You have to make a choice Annabeth, and stick by that choice! I mean, at least when Percy made a choice he had the decency not to act jealous and possessive when it came to you, and he actually did his best to support you guys. I mean, yeah he did avoid you, but at least he didn't throw it in your face. If you keep going down this path you WILL lose Percy. Oh, and Derek. That I can guarantee you."

"I...I...I don't know anymore Piper, I'm just so confused and I'm not used to being this confused for this long and.."

"I know Annabeth, I know, this _is_ a pretty confusing time for us, what with hormones and all. But you can't keep hurting them. You just can't."

"How am I hurting Percy?"

She looked at me incredulously. "Oh, my gods... You still don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

She looked me shook her head slowly. "I can't believe you're this oblivious!"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!"

"Because it's the truth Annabeth, gods! Even Percy, PERCY, was able to admit it to himself. I can't believe you're so far in denial that you still can't admit it, even to yourself!"

"Denial of what?"

"Of your feelings!" She pinched the bridge of her nose, before taking a deep breath. "Okay, let me try it this way... How do feel about Percy?" Pff, that's easy! He's like my best friend!

I was about to answer, when she held up her hand to stop me. "No, no, no, don't give me your answer just yet. I want you think about, REALLY think about it Annabeth, okay? If not for you, then for me. I'm gonna go inside now, and make sure they haven't trashed the place."

"Wait, Piper... How.. What do you mean with, think about how I feel about Percy?"

"Uhm well... Okay, so like, how do you feel when he's not there? And, what about him do you like? Not like? Just, roll with that, and I don't know, write it down, whatever comes up. Yeah, I think that would definitely help you... Seeing it all on paper..."

I nodded. "Okay... Thank you.. Oh and um Piper? I'm uhhh... I'm really sorry, about well.. How I've been acting lately..."

She just gave me a small in return and shrugged. "No worries Annabeth, love makes people do crazy things."

"Woah, hold your horses there. Who said anything about love?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh styx! I'm worse than Nico.." she muttered quietly.

I frowned, my mind racing a mile a minute, analyzing what she said. "Wait a minute... You mean how I love you because you're my friend?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah, sure I can roll with that. That's exactly what I meant... How about we both head inside huh? You can go to Percy's room and get started on that list, while I make sure everyone else leaves you alone."

"Okay, sounds great. Thanks Piper."

Well, this was gonna be easy.

 **Thalia's POV**

I hate mirrors.

I hate seeing my mom stare back at me. I look just like her. She constantly reminded of that fact and it always made me sick. The perfect blonde hair, blue eyes just like mine, her attitude and presence... I cut my hair, dyed it different colors, but she was still looking back at me.

In. Every. Damned. Mirror.

I tore holes in my jeans, and wore nothing but black. My mother would never be caught dead in the clothes I wore. No matter what I did though, her eyes stared back at me in every reflection.

My dad was no saint, but he was honest about that, he left us alone. All she ever did was lie. She tried to separate Jason and me. She constantly criticized me. She was always looking for new ways to hurt those around her. She never protected us. She was never there for us. She tainted the lives she touched.

You couldn't trust her.

I try to kill the part of me that was my mother, a part of myself, but it still wasn't enough.

He doesn't trust me.

Gods, I mean, I always knew our relationship wasn't going to be perfect, but I didn't think that there would be a problem we couldn't solve. Together. But, gods, how are we supposed to get past this together, when he doesn't even trust me? I was honest about everything. And I've been trying so hard to show him that I've changed. That I would be there for him. That _I_ don't ruin the lives I touch.

But he couldn't move past it.

Maybe I'm just too fucking complicated for anyone to love me...

Maybe I'm still just like my mother after all.

-Line Break-

We were all currently still chilling at Percy's because well... I guess none of us had anywhere else to go. Our own homes were either too full or too empty, but at least here we found comfort in each other's presence.

Or we used to at least.

The atmosphere changed. We weren't just a group of friends anymore. Lately, it felt like this group was falling apart, the onslaught of drama too much for us. I wanted to be fine. I really did. But, I don't even know how to anymore. Not with Nico sitting across me.

"Hey, we never finished our book/movie about RED the serial killer!" Hazel exclaimed suddenly, breaking the silence that dawned on us the moment Percy walked out that door.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Holy shit, you're right!" Leo shouted with glee.

"We did it here last time! The notes and drawings have got to be here somewhere." Frank said excitedly.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go look for them!" Jason shouted.

Ah, what the hell.

We all went our separate ways, and looked in different corners of the apartment. And I've got to admit, it kinda felt like old times.

It felt nice.

-Line Break-

"Guys, we are not going over this again!" Jason said exasperated. "RED is obviously killing people because she's sacrificing them to ZEUS!"

"You're kidding right?" Nico asked incredulously. "She's sending them to the **Underworld**! Remind me again, who rules the Underworld?"

"Hades." Hazel answered, high-fiving Nico.

"That's right sis. And in your face Grace!"

"Oh yeah? Remind me, who's the king of the gods again?" I asked them. Hazel and Nico shared an uneasy glance. "Well?"

"Zeus." Jason answered smugly, giving me a high-five.

"So what?"Nico retorted.

"So everything. Hades is a god, Zeus is the king." I explained.

"Yeah, case closed!" Jason affirmed.

"But he souls don't go to Olympus now do they?" Hazel interjected.

"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty." Leo said. "But also wrong. Obviously it's to Hephaestus."

"What? No way!" Jason, Hazel, Nico and I shouted back. Wow, that was so weird. I shared a look with Nico, one that wasn't filled with anger, hurt or heartbreak. It was fleeting, but it was there. And that gave me hope.

It was over, but my broken heart still found a way to beat. And maybe that's it. That's the sign that I'll be okay. Maybe not today, definitely not tomorrow.

But some day.

And in that day, Nico and I can be friends again. I just have to get there.

We just have to get there.

 **Percy's POV**

When I woke up this morning, I woke up half naked with a hangover that felt like death. Man, time to cut back on the drinking. Seriously.

I saw that there were three arms on my naked chest instead of two. I followed the arm, until I saw her. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She had a serious case of bedhead, her face was scrunched up in the cutest way possible and she was wearing my shirt from last night. It was this dark blue shirt, and there was this blue dolphin on it and it said 'Beach please.' in a speech balloon. It was my all time favorite T-shirt. But, I had to admit, she looked adorable in it.

And suddenly the pounding headache lessened. I smiled, thinking about what we did. I should get her something. As a thank you. On second thought there wasn't any time for that. I don't know what time she'd be leaving. I should make her breakfast! Just like the last time I _thought_ we did... well this. Glad to know I remember everything this time.

I stood up quietly and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and cleaned my tattoo. Afterwards I went to the kitchen to make us breakfast, oh and some hot cocoa with blue marshmallows. Man, I will never be able to drink that without thinking about Rachel.

I smiled. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

-Line Break-

I was whistling 'Walking on sunshine', when I saw that Rachel had awoken. She just exited the bathroom and went back to bed. Dayumn, her bedhead was literally defying gravity right now, and that smile paired with my oversized shirt... oh gods. She looked so adorable, I can't even right now...

I gave her one of my signature crooked grins and showed her the tray of food in my hands. "Breakfast, is served Milady."

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree and my heart started beating faster.

"I could get used to this." She said, her eyes looking straight at my naked torso. Ohh, she was SO checking me out right now.

"Yeah? All right, you can keep the shirt then."

I lay down beside her and gave her the tray. "Thanks. I'll treasure it forever." She said softly, giving me small peck and my heart fluttered. Lol, what? It was just a chaste kiss? Why the hell is my heart doing this weird thing? Over a _kiss._.. Ookay then...

"I'd make you breakfast anytime, because well I love you." My eyes widened, my sleep addled brain finally realizing what I just said. "Um.. I mean, that is to say..-"

"-Gross!... " She crinkled her nose and my heart stopped. "I love you too though." she said with a smile.

And I laughed, because that was just so typical Rachel.

I pouted my lips. "That was mean."

"Yeah, but your face was just priceless."

"I don't know if I want to give you my shirt now... That hurt, you know."

"Aww, come here you big baby. How about I kiss it and make it all better." And then she kissed me on the nose and I had to blink, because I was not expecting that. Best morning ever.

And then I saw the boxes again. And that sobered me up.

"When.. When are you leaving?" I had to know. I had to know how much time **we** had left.

She gave me sad smile. "I leave tonight." She must've seen something in my eyes because she frowned and asked me "Are you okay Percy?"

"Hm, oh yeah! I'm fine."

"What's wrong? You don't regret what we did, right?" her voice was impossibly small.

My heart clenched. "What? No! Of course not! I don't regret anything Rachel!" I said, with as much determination as I could.

"Then what's wrong?... It's because I'm leaving, isn't it?"

I sighed. "Yeah, but... I respect your choice, even if it breaks my heart. I will never run after you or beg you to do something you don't want to or stand in the way of your dreams, because that's how much I love you... I'd choose your happiness over mine Rach. I won't be selfish with you. Forced love is not true love."

She gave me a soft, sad smile and just put her head on my shoulder. "Thank you Percy, for being so understanding." Here's the thing I've realized about Rachel. She's special. She doesn't need anyone. I could beg her to stay, to be mine, but I know she'd refuse. Even if we were together, she wouldn't really belong to me. She doesn't belong to anyone or anything. She's off in her own world, and I'm just glad she let me in. Even if it was for a little while. Even if it's just for now.

Her hand was tracing letters on my my skin, when she noticed my tattoo.

"Hey, when did you get this?"

I frowned, "Two days ago if I'm not mistaken."

"Uhm, okay... Why?"

"Well...I went to a party."

She looked at me weirdly. "Oh, was it one of those tattoo parties?"

"Um, no, no... It was just an ordinary party. Wait, those exist?"

She shrugged and said "I mean, I assume so. Wait so if it wasn't a tattoo party, then why'd you get a tattoo?"

I sighed. "I... kinda got shitfaced. Really shitfaced. Bada bing, bada boom, I woke up with this tattoo."

She smiled. "How'd you react after seeing it? Ha, I bet you screamed like a little girl!"

I blushed. How'd she guess that? "No!"

She saw my face. "Oh my gods, you so did!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yah-uh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yah-uh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yah-uh!"

"All right, fine!" I admitted. "Yes, I screamed like a little girl and the guys came barging in my room, holding various objects as weapons. There, you happy truthy-mcgee?"

She burst into a fit of giggles. "Ohh, yes I've never been happier."

After that it was quiet after that, but not uncomfortably so. I was looking around, the place looked so empty and it was just so weird. Everything was packed, well, except for the tv. Suddenly a light bulb went off in my head.

"So... You've pretty much packed everything away, huh?" I asked nonchalantly.

She looked around. "You don't say! What gave it away? It was the boxes wasn't it?"

I shoved her lightly. "Shut up. I'm just saying... If you wanted to, you could spend all day in bed..."

She looked up as if contemplating what I just said. She was suppressing a smile "I suppose so. But what would I do though?"

"Hmm... Well I mean, I'd be here... and I may have a couple of ideas for us."

She smirked at me. "Oh do you now? I wonder what kind of ideas."

I gave her a roguish smile "Well... Your tv is still here...We could.. You know.. Watch some Netflix and chill...?"

"Why Percy Jackson, you scoundrel, you!... But okay, let's do it."

"Really?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, why not? OH! OH! We can binge-watch all the horror movies on my list!" Uh, wait what? "Yes, I have SO many on my list, just waiting to be watched!" Geez, what is it with girls and horror movies?

"...Uhm, that's not really what I had in mind..." I said with furrowed eyebrows.

"I know." She said with a wicked smile. This woman will be the death of me, I swear...

I sighed. "Fine, let's go."

I made us some popcorn and turned down the lights. We snuggled with each other, while Rachel was choosing a horror movie for us to watch.

I may not be a big fan of horror movies, but how could I complain? I had one of the most amazing woman in my arms, life was good.

-Line Break-

Rachel was snuggled up in my arms. Netflix was asking us if we were there, but we were both too lazy to grab the remote and prove that we were still watching.

I wasn't really paying attention to the movies anyway. Not because I hated horror movies, because they were starting to grow on me. No, I wasn't paying attention, because I was too busy looking at the redheaded beauty beside me. The clock was ticking, and I wanted to commit as much of Rachel to memory as I could.

"Mmm, Percy, grab the remote and play the next movie.." Rachel said, her eyes closed.

"Nope." That got em to open.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to. You do it!"

"No! I don't want to either."

"Well, then I guess no movie."

"Come on! Please?"

"No! It's your turn, I did it last time."

"Pleaaaasee?"

"Nope."

"Ugh, you're being SO mean right now."

"Love you too babe."

And then there was a comfortable silence. She saw my packet of cigarets on the floor and frowned. Huh, they must've fallen out of my jacket.

"Hey, since when do you smoke?"

"Hm? That? I don't really remember.. Some time in the beginning of the year I think. I haven't smoked in a while though. You're not gonna give me the cancer lecture now, are you?"

"Ha, nahh, you're a big boy Percy. I'm sure you know all of that by now."

"Yeah, my parents won't shut up about it."

She snorted. "I bet. Parents are weird like that, caring for you and shit. Bastards."

I shoved her lightly. "All right, fine, you don't have be so sarcastic you know."

"Ha, you're one to talk."

I smiled. She got me there.

"You know, I have this theory." She started.

"Yeah? Another conspiracy theory?"

She snorted. "Nah, nothing groundbreaking like that.. I have this theory about alcohol, drugs, cigarets and anything else that is considered 'poison'."

"Lay it on me Rach, you know I love hearing any and every theory of yours." I said softly, thinking back to all those sleepless nights we spent on the phone, talking about everything and nothing and what we thought of it all.

"Okay, well.. In this day and age, everyone knows what's bad for us. We all know cigarets and alcohol is poison, right?"

"Yeah, the internet made sure of that."

"Well, then why do people still do it? I think, we poison ourselves slowly because... Because there's something inside of us we want to kill. A memory. A person. A feeling. Something. What do you think Percy?"

I exhaled. "Yeah maybe but... I also think... Maybe, we're attracted to the things that kill us slowly."

She was quiet after that.

"All right... Riddle me this: What makes smoking so sexy?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows, to chase away this somber mood.

She snorted at that. "Ha you wish smoking made you sexier."

I took out a cigaret and put it between my lips and lit it up. "Come one, you're telling me you're not incredibly attracted to me right now?"

"That cigaret has nothing to do with how incredibly attracted I am to you right now."

"Ha, so you admit it, you are incredibly attracted to me right now?"

"I never said other wise."

I blinked at that. "I guess you didn't.."

"Why did you start smoking Percy?" She asked me suddenly, laying her head on my chest, over my heart. I was startled by the question.

I looked out the window, taking a big drag of my cigaret. I thought about Nico, and how he smoked religiously in the beginning of the year, and cut back the moment he made up with Thalia. I thought about Annabeth, how she closed her eyes when she smoked and frowned, and how I haven't seen her touch cigaret ever since she started dating Derek. I thought about Thalia, how she would smoke like a chimney whenever she had a fight with her mother, but stopped after we all went to the beach.

And then I thought about all the times I smoked. And how I felt back then. How I felt after.

"You know Rachel, I have this theory, about smokers."

"Yeah? What is it? Lay it on me."

"I think, on some level, every single person who smokes is lonely. Or.. or maybe people smoke when they feel lonely. The smoke providing us with a temporary relief as it fills the cracks and gaps inside of us that nothing else seemed to be able to do." And then I put out the cigaret. I didn't need it.

And then I shrugged. "Then again, what do I know? I'm just a kid."

She looked forward, deep in thought. "I guess we all need an escape."

I sighed. "I suppose so... I know I'll be escaping back to this exact memory countless times in the future."

She looked up, right in my eyes, and gave a wicked smile. And I asked myself... how could a smile from an angel like her, promise sin the way it did?

"Well, then we better make this memory a good one huh?"

I wiggled my eyebrows and gave her a crooked smile. "Now who's the scoundrel?"

She laughed and grabbed my head.

"Shut up and kiss me."

How could I deny her?

She was my angel.

-Line Break-

We spent all day in her apartment. Talking. Laughing. Eating. Exploring each other's bodies. Spending every waking moment together, because we both knew it was all coming to an end. Soon. Unfortunately, time did not stand still. Not for us anyway, because in a blink of an eye it was time.

This was it.

The moment I was dreading.

The one thing I hated most was saying goodbye. It's never been easy for me. I mean, how do you even approach the concept? They're all different. Some are for a day, some for a month. But others... They are forever. And I don't know if I can accept the concept of forever. What if this goodbye was forever? It would be like 'Hey, this was amazing but I'm never gonna see you again, goodbye.' That doesn't feel right to me. That do us justice. It doesn't feel complete. But maybe... maybe that's what goodbyes are... They're incomplete and you never know how long a goodbye will last. But I guess that's just part of life.

I stood beside the taxi, and Rachel was on the verge of going in. And I was half tempted to go join her.

But I can't.

Even though the age gap between us wasn't that big...She and I are in different stages in life right now, and I have to respect that.

I looked at her one last time. I don't know if it's because this might be the last time I'd see her, or because of the setting but I swear she's never looked more beautiful. The setting sun lit her hair up, the tears in her eyes making her green eyes look impossibly big. She gave me a watery smile that I wanted to kiss away.

So I did.

I kissed her, the same way I did when we kissed for the first time. Because that's what Rachel was to me. That's what she'll always be to me.

My first.

My first kiss.

My first time.

My first love.

"Even.. Even if we can't be together in the end... I'm glad that you were part of my life." I choked out.

She put her forehead against mine and smiled.

"Come on Percy, smile. It's the second best thing you can do with your lips."

And so I did. I gave her one of my famously crooked grin, because I couldn't deny her now.

She hugged me, and I held her so tightly and it just felt so right. Rachel in my arms.

I wish I could live in this moment forever.

I had to let go, it was time. But...

"Percy, I have to go. "she whispered. "We have to say goodbye."

I shook my head. "Just... Just five more minutes, please?"

She laughed a little bit. "That's what you said in bed, and I remember it being a hell of a lot longer than five minutes."

And I smiled, because only Rachel would say that.

"All right, all right..." I said, but I didn't let go. How could I?

"Percy..." she whispered, her voice choker up.

"It's time, I have to go now. You have to let me go."

I couldn't deny her now.

Not now. Not ever.

And so, I did, I let her go once more, with one last kiss goodbye.

And she left, with one long last look at me that said it all.

And I, well I just stood there for gods knows how long.

And I was all alone again, all I wanted was to smoke.

Because she left.

 _She_ left.

* * *

 **I am just as surprised as you are, honestly. Seriously, dudes, dudettes I am shocked. I mean yeah, this chapter wasn't as long as I wanted it to be and it was kinda serious again, but I didn't expect it to be finished _this_ soon you know? I thought it would take me longer to finish writing this chapter, but here we are.**

 **Now for all of you out there that think Thalia or Annabeth was Percy's first love, I mean, sort of, but not... really? It's complicated and I guess that makes sense because love is complicated. I'll try my best to explain it, but then again I could be wrong and this might make absolutely no sense whatsoever. I've never been in love so I'm really just basing everything of off stuff I've read, heard and seen, and my imagination. **

**The thing with Thalia is, he wasn't really in love with her per se, but more like the idea of her. Like, she was this dangerous beauty and he was infatuated by her because he didn't want to play it safe anymore. It's kinda like a 'love-at-first-site' type of deal, but that's the thing. How can you be in love with someone at first site? You don't know anything about them, and I may not be an expert but I always thought you had to know the person (even just a little bit) to fall in love with them, you know? Could he fall in love with Thalia as time goes on? Yeah, I think so... Guess we'll just have to see ;)**

 **As for Annabeth, yeah, he loved her, he even admitted it to himself if I'm not mistaken, but it was one-sided. Or at least, that's what he believes ;) So he never really stopped and smelt the roses, metaphorically speaking. It was hard. He was constantly trying to hold himself back, and instead of enjoying the feeling of being in love with her, he was kind of suppressing it, so he felt miserable. It kind of brought out the worst in him, what with him basically bullying Derek, and it brought out the worse in Annabeth, her jealousy and possessiveness.**

 **With Rachel, well he could love her freely and enjoy it to the fullest. Like, he didn't have to worry about her not loving him back, he could feel that she did. It was easy, and he didn't have to think about wether or not it would be obvious he was in love with her, you know? And that's why he considers her his first love, because at the end of the day, they loved each other in a way that didn't need holding back. It was easy and it was fun. But the timing was wrong. I mean, yeah you could argue and say why not long-distance? But those rarely work, and I think Percy and Rachel could have made it work, maybe, but Percy didn't want to hold Rachel back from anything. Not her dream, not from love. So he let her go. So she's out of the picture. For now at least, the future isn't set in stone so... Stay tuned I would say haha.**

 **But yeah, tell me what you guys think, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Just because I say it's like that, well that doesn't mean that has to be the way you see it. It could all just be bullshit. Also, if you've got like real life experience to speak about, well I'd love to hear em, because that could really help me. It sure as hell beats me using my imagination.**

 **Now onto the reviews:**

 **To SonOfHades1: Dude, I was literally thinking about stopping the chapter there when I was writing it :O But, I didn't cause I had all this inspiration and I thought, ehh, they've suffered enough as is so yeah ;) But, that doesn't mean I'll be this merciful in future chapter, so you've all been warned hehe.**

 **To Starbreaker195: Glad to know my chapter had that effect on you haha! I was just listening to this acoustic playlist on Spotify, because that really helps me get in the mood for writing. This story at least. Also, I just really really like acoustic songs. And I would NEVER do that to Percy! Love the pun with my name tho, puns never get old XD I think procrastination is only good, when you don't HAVE to write you know what I mean? Like the only reason I think that procrastination is helping me right now, is because I'm supposed to be studying. But, if I was supposed to be writing a new chapter, yeah, no procrastination definitely would not help me. I suppose I should thankful for the exams, I'd never write as much as I do right now without it haha.**

 **To Anna: Aww, thank you! I appreciate it :) As for Thalico, well as much as I hate to admit it, this is a drama so anything can happen ;)**


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the characters, just the plot, I think, well... Sort of.**

 **Nico's POV**

This was so awkward.

I was currently doing research with Thalia, we were on the couch on our phones, reading about serial killers, and the silence was deafening. All around us, everyone else was either arguing or working together, just having a jolly good time. And then you had me and Thalia. On the couch. Silence.

"Hey Nico," Thalia started quietly so that none of our other friends could hear, "this is awkward huh?"

"Yeah... I'm not used to this."

"Me neither."

And then the silence returned.

"I think... maybe you and I rushed into 'this' too quickly." Thalia said suddenly.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been thinking, with the past that we share, maybe we should've taken things...slowly. You know, friends first. We were never really friends before we got together, we just rushed into a relationship way too quickly."

"Huh, I guess you're right... yeah that makes sense." I said slowly.

"And...I shouldn't have pushed you to I guess 'out' our relationship either." She admitted. "I'm... I'm sorry, I really should have been more attentive of your feelings."

I put my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "No, Thals, seriously don't apologize. I should have been more honest from the beginning."

She smiled and rested her head on my shoulder. "I guess we're just a couple of messed up kids that suck at relationships, huh?"

"Yeah... I suppose we should stick together then."

"Yep... Looks like we're stuck together."

"Damn, poor us."

"Don't push your luck Di Angelo."

"Wouldn't dream of it Grace."

"Friends?"

"Sigh, I guess so."

"Psh, you know you won't find a better friend than me."

"I don't know, I might if I looked in a dumpster."

"Yeah, with a face like yours a dumpster would be the only option."

"Gee thanks."

"Don't mention it Death Breath."

And even though we both agreed to be friends, it would still be awkward for a while before we could actually consider each other as a friend.

 **Annabeth's POV**

I don't know what Piper or I had been expecting when we came back up, but it certainly wasn't a messy living room, drawings of either a snake or a redhead with green smoke coming out of her, littering the place.

"Oh, not again." Piper groaned. "I thought we were done with this whole oracle serial killer when we couldn't think of the rest of the story anymore!"

"Well, we just got a stroke of inspiration okay?" Jason snapped.

"All right then, let me hear it. How does the story proceed?" Piper ordered.

"Uhm..."

"I thought so."

"Fine, we don't have all the details yet, but we can't just give up like that." Jason said sheepishly.

"Yeah! This is our baby Piper. Our baby!" Leo said passionately. "You can't just up and leave! Think about the children!"

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously Thalia, you too?" she said to Thalia who was making another drawing of a snake.

Thalia just shrugged, not stopping for a second. "It's something to do, besides I genuinely think it's a good story."

"Uhm, okay, I'm gonna go to Percy's room I need some time alone." I spoke up.

Nico suddenly stood up. "Woah, hey, wait. You can't go in there."

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Because, Percy doesn't want people going in his room."

"Why?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't know Annabeth, but I think we, as Percy's FRIENDS, should respect his wishes."

"But... aren't you guys curious now? I mean, why doesn't he want us to go inside his room? What's he hiding?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." Nico said with a shrug.

"But..-"

"Look, Annabeth, if you want to be alone, then go to the study or his parents bedroom."

I clenched my jaw.

Piper put a hand on my shoulder. "Annabeth, leave it."

I was gonna argue, but then I saw that Derek was still here. Oh my gods, it is not a good sign that I actually forgot he was still here.

"I think I'm gonna head out." Derek said, grabbing his jacket.

"Okay, let me walk you out." I said, but he held his hand up.

"Uhm, it's okay babe, you don't have to walk me out."

I frowned. "I want to though."

"I'll be fine. You just go to Percys room or whatever."

I grabbed his arm. "Are we okay?"

"I know I am."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm okay. What do you think it means?"

"Uh, all right then. Call me when you get home okay?"

"Yeah, whatever." and then he gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek, but I don't know... It felt wrong. "See you."

I frowned to myself, and went to the study.

-Line Break-

All right.

How do I feel about Percy? I wrote Percy Jackson in the middle of a paper and drew a circle over it.

Well... he...has great hair?

He's...a Seaweed Brain?

Ugh, why is this so hard all of a sudden?

...

It's been half an hour and the paper was still empty. Why am I such a failure? What is the matter with me? I was currently lying on the floor with my arm over my eyes, the paper long forgotten.

Piper came barging in and asked "So? How's the list going? Show me what you've got!"

And she must've seen my position and the practically empty paper, because she just facepalmed and said "How the hell are you so bad at this Annabeth?"

I just groaned and said "I don't know Piper... Give me a complex math equation I'll get it done, but this has me stumped."

She sighed. "You need help?"

I scoffed. "You're asking **me** , someone who has a 4.0 GPA, if I need help?"

"Well do you?"

"...yes please."

She sighed again. "Fine, I'll go grab the others."

I shot up. "Woah, hey wait... Who are 'the others'? Not the guys right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, Annabeth. Give me some credit, okay? I was just gonna get the girls, obviously."

"All right, fine. Sorry."

"Thank you."

-Line Break-

"That is just pathetic Annabeth." was the first Thalia said when she saw my 'list'.

"I definitely thought you could do better." Hazel admitted.

I groaned. "Guys. I know okay? I _suck_. There, you happy? That's why I need your help!"

"Yeah, that's obvious." Thalia said with a snort.

"I could do without the attitude."

"Take it or leave it babe." Bitch.

"All right, all right. Time to get to business." Piper announced. "We can only use the excuse 'lady talk' a couple of times before the guys start getting suspicious. Now, Annabeth stand up."

I did as she said.

"Okay, I took this huge-ass white board out of the kitchen, so that we can write down what you think of Percy." Piper said.

"I'll write if you guys want." Hazel proposed, and yeah that's probably for the best. She does have the best handwriting out of all of us.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Thalia admitted.

"True, plus that way Annabeth can focus 100% on just thinking about Percy." Piper added.

"All right, so the pros go here on the left and the cons on the right." Hazel said, while writing on the white board.

"Okay, Annabeth. What do you like about Percy?" Piper asked. Geez, I don't know, if I did, you guys wouldn't be here right now.

I was about to answer, when Thalia interrupted. "Wait, no, let's start with something easy. What do you NOT like about Percy? Those are more fun. "

I mulled it over.

"Well, I guess... he can be really annoying at times." I said.

Hazel wrote annoying under cons.

Piper and Thalia nodded. "Good. Good. Keep going." Piper encouraged.

"And, well... okay, Percy's great and all but he doesn't have a life plan. He doesn't even have a day plan."

"What do you mean?" Hazel asked. Everyone was obviously confused.

"Like, okay so I once found a note he wrote to himself that said 'put on pants' followed by a question mark."

Everyone looked at me skeptically.

"You are so making that up." Piper said.

I shook my head. "Guys, I swear on the river of Styx." A clap of thunder could be heard in the distance.

They all face-palmed.

"Okay, so... Might not wear pants without reminder." Hazel wrote.

"Hmm, oh okay and he is so oblivious." I said frustrated. "Like a girl could be sending him obvious signs that she's interested in him, and he won't notice. At all. It is so annoying! Gods!"

Hazel looked at me with wide eyes. "Uhm, okay... So... oblivious."

"I dunno, I think that could also be a pro." Thalia said with a contemplative face.

"Yeah, I could see that." Piper agreed. "Add it to the pro side." So Hazel did.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What the hades are you guys talking about? How can that be a pro?"

"Well, think about it," Thalia started. "if he was your boyfriend, he wouldn't notice the other girls trying to flirt with him."

"Yeah, I think if Percy had a girlfriend, he would only have eyes for her." Piper theorized.

"Yeah, she'd be such a lucky girl." Hazel added.

"Oh, yeah no doubt." Piper agreed.

"Okay, getting off topic here." I said. "Besides, Percy and I are just friends. What does him being a good boyfriend have to do with anything?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all." Thalia said quickly. "Let's keep going."

"All right." I said suspiciously.

"Well... He seems to downplay his intelligence. In fact, he just downplays his strengths. Like, he is SO amazing, but he still doubts himself way too much.! Every time he starts to talk about how he's not smart enough or cute enough, or just not enough, I ugh, I just want to grab his face and-" I stopped mid-rant, because I was about to say that I wanted to kiss his face. Like, what? I don't want to kiss Percy! Gross.

And then I had to think about all those times it seemed like we were about to kiss... In my living room... In my bedroom... Outside the tattoo parlor... I blushed. What the hell? Why do Percy and I almost kiss so many times? Is that like a friend thing?

"Uhm... Annabeth... you okay there?" Piper asked tentatively.

I shook my head, trying to chase away those memories. I'm sure we wouldn't have kissed anyways, cause we didn't.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, yeah, I just..zoned out."

"Uh-huh, and this has nothing to do with you and Percy?" Thalia asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

My face heated up. Oh my gods did she see us? Nah, not possible. We were alone in my living room and bedroom, and... Oh my gods maybe she saw us outside the tattoo parlor!... Gods, I hope not.

"No!" I said indignantly.

"Uh-huh. Sure." She said unconvinced.

"I wasn't thinking about Percy!" I insisted.

"Yah-huh." Pff, as if I'd react to that!

...

"Nuh-uh!" All right, so I caved! Sue me.

"Yah-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Guys, focus!" Piper commanded.

Thalia and I looked at them sheepishly.

"Sorry." I muttered.

"Yeah, kinda got distracted there hehe." she added.

"Okay, so... He's too modest?" Hazel summarized.

Piper nodded. "Yeah, that about summarizes Annabeth's unfinished rant."

"Yeah, what was the rest of the rant anyway?" Thalia asked with a suggestive tone and a shit-eating grin.

I felt a blush coming up and did my best to fight it."Well.. I..."

"You were gonna grab his face, and..?" Hazel reiterated.

I cleared my throat. "Right, well... I was gonna say, that... I just want to grab his face, and.. head-but him! Yeah, that's what I was gonna say!"

"Uh-huh, sure it was." Thalia said unconvinced.

"I think you meant, smash your lips against his hun." Piper said with a wink.

"Ugh as if!" I said, doing my best to look disgusted. "Why would I want to kiss Percy?"

"Well, he is pretty good looking." Hazel said helpfully.

"Yeah, plus and don't tell him I told you that, but he **is** a good kisser." Piper confessed. I had to fight the urge to scowl at her.

"Really?" Thalia asked. "What kind of a kisser is he anyways?"

"Well, he didn't dive right into it you know. He took his time." Piper said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She closed her eyes before explaining. "Right, okay, so most guys I've kissed so far they always went straight for the kiss you know. Like they'd grab my face and just go for it. And I thought I liked it that way, but after Percy... So first, he looked at my lips and then back into my eyes, and gods you should've seen it. He was only focused on me and it was just...amazing. Then he grabbed my face with both of his hands, and his thumbs were caressing my cheeks. He was going in slowly, but gods that just made it so much better when he finally did kiss me, you know?"

"I just thought he was scared when it took him a while to kiss you." Thalia said.

"Well... I don't know if he was scared, but he didn't seem scared from where I was standing.." Piper told her. "He was just taking his time, and it was so worth it."

"Okay, so good kisser." Hazel wrote under pros.

"Right, so Annabeth, any other cons?" Thalia asked.

"Well... um.." I said.

"OH, I know, he can be pretty impulsive!" Thalia said suddenly.

"Oh, yeah. Like that time he pushed that button at the aquarium and the whole class fell in the water!" Hazel recalled.

"Or the time he suddenly jumped on that horse because he _swore_ it dared him to. And then he fell off." Thalia said with a snicker.

"Ha, yeah totally forgot about that!" I said, remembering that day

"Oh, OH, he can also be a little dramatic." Piper exclaimed suddenly.

I frowned. "Percy? Really?"

"Dude, one time he was in tears when called me at two in the morning because most blueberries are actually purple." She deadpanned.

We all burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Thalia said.

"You and Percy together though, you guys do stupid stuff together." Hazel said.

Piper looked offended. "What? No way! If anything, I'm like the voice of reason when Percy and I hang out! I _stop_ him from doing stupid shit!"

I snorted "Yeah, right. You're more like the little devil on his shoulder egging him on to do even _more_ stupid shit."

"Name one example!"

"Oh, what about that time we were on this merry go round in the teacups, and everyone else was in pairs, spinning a little and talking, and you and Percy were spinning as fast you could? Percy even flew out of it and scraped his hands!" Hazel recalled.

"Or that time where you guys got kicked out of a clothing store because you guys were competing to see who could wear the most clothes! And then sumo wrestled each other." Thalia added.

"Or what about the time you guys got us kicked out of that restaurant because you, Percy and Leo started that food fight." I added.

"Hey, that's not fair. That was Leo's fault!" Piper said indignantly.

"Ugh, don't even get me started about you, Percy and Leo as a trio." Thalia said with a shudder.

"I'm surprised you guys are still alive." Hazel said seriously. "Even more, that we are still sane."

"True that." I said.

Piper frowned, opened her mouth and then closed it.

"..."

"You know, I just asked for **one** example. Geez you guys have to work on your listening skills!" She said indignantly.

We just rolled our eyes.

"Right, so impulsive and dramatic, I'll ad dangerous too." Hazel added to the con list.

"Anything else?" Thalia wondered.

"Hmmm... well he can be funny that's true, but sometimes he just makes jokes at the worst time possible." I said.

"Elaborate." Piper said.

"Well, we were shopping for clothes and..

FLASHBACK

" _Ugh, Annabeth how long is this gonna take? We've been at it for hours and you promised me ice cream!" Percy whined._

" _Ugh, quit your whining, we'll get ice cream as soon as we're done!" I said trough the dressing room door._

" _I wasn't whining..." Percy mumbled. I rolled my eyes at that. "Besides, I don't even know why you need a new outfit, you've already met Derek's parents before!"_

" _Yeah, but that was a long time ago, and I wasn't his girlfriend back then! Not official anyway."_

" _Any parents would be lucky to have you as a daughter-in-law." he said._

" _Flattery won't get you anywhere Seaweed Brain!" I wasn't blushing, just so you know. All right fine, maybe a little._

 _I came out of the dressing room and did a twirl. "Well? How does it look?"_

 _He looked me up and down and said in a serious tone (that I've never heard him use btw) "It's a no from me."_

 _And my face fell. I really thought this was...the one you know? Ugh, this sucked._

 _I went back into the dressing room in a huff and took it off and went back into the store.I got a couple of clothing pieces and went back to the dressing rooms._

" _Hey, where did the other outfit go?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows._

 _I looked at him as if he sprouted two extra heads. "I put it back." I said slowly._

" _Why?!"_

" _Because you said it looked bad, duh."_

" _I was just kidding!" he said with a horrified look._

 _I looked at him, stunned. "What?!"_

" _Well..it was...I just-" He stuttered. "-It was a joke! I was doing Simon Cowell! You know, America's got talent?"_

" _This. Is. Not. The. Time!" I shouted. "Gods, you are such a Seaweed Brain, ugh!"_

" _I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll go get it!" And he ran out of the dressing rooms into the store._

 _He came back a couple of minutes later looking incredibly guilty. "I'm so sorry Annabeth but someone else must've gotten it.."_

" _Oh, this is just perfect! Great, now it'll be ages before we find something else that I like and by then-" I started to rant, but then he moved his hand away from his back and showed me the dress that I wanted._

" _Ha, gotcha!" He said with a smile._

 _I glowered at him. "Seriously? You'Re still gonna make jokes? Right now?"_

 _He gulped. "Right, heh, probably not the best time then, huh?"_

 _I walked over to him and grabbed the dress and said "No. No it is not Seaweed Brain. Just for that... No ice cream."_

 _His horrified look was so worth it. "Wait, what? Wise Girl! You're joking right? Right? Wise girl?"_

END FLASHBACK

"How did you not know he was doing Simon Cowell?" Piper asked incredulously.

"Uhm, maybe because it wasn't the TIME to do impressions?" I answered.

"It's always time for impressions." Thalia said seriously.

"I don't know, I've got to agree with Annabeth on this one." Hazel said. "She was obviously nervous and Percy shouldn't have joked around."

"Maybe he was trying to get her to lighten up." Piper retorted.

"Yeah, but he could've done it when they went to get ice cream." Hazel replied.

"...well, yeah that's true." Piper admitted.

"All right, I see your point." Thalia told me.

"Okay, so doesn't always take things serious." Hazel added to the cons list.

"Enough about the cons, let's get started on the pros." Thalia said, rubbing her hands together.

Oh, this won't turn out well, will it?

 **Percy's POV**

I don't how long I stood there, but I decided it was time to go home when my shivering was too hard too ignore. I was about to light up a cigaret, when I saw my reflection in a window. What happened to me?

My hair was all messy, I was wearing a leather jacket instead of a sweater vest and it feels like I haven't touched a book in months. Di immortales, I wasn't even wearing a shirt! And I was covered in hickeys!

I'm _not_ the same boy like I was when I first moved here. And yet... At the moment I kind felt like him...

Small...

Lonely...

Insignificant.

And I wondered. Was it better when I was alone? I certainly never would've felt this gut-wrenching heartache... but I never would've met Rachel either.

I sighed and lit up the cigaret.

This was gonna be a long trek home, and I was all alone with my thoughts.

-Line Break-

I don't know what I was expecting when I got back home, but it sure as hell wasn't all of my friends passed out in my living room in precarious positions, with papers strewn about. This documentary about serial killers was playing on the tv. I took one in my hands and saw a drawing of a redheaded girl with green smoke coming out of her eyes, nose and mouth. Oh for fucks' sake! I thought we were **done** with this.

I let it fall and shook my head. What am I gonna do with this bunch of weirdoes?... What would I do without them?

I shook my head at that thought and decided it was definitely time for bed, so I turned off the tv, took off my shoes and jacket, went to my room and passed out in my bed.

-Line Break-

I woke up when I heard this loud knocking on my door.

"Percy wake up! We know you're here! We saw your shoes and jacket!" Thalia screamed trough the door.

"Thalia! What if he's in a bad mood? You have to be more sensitive!" Hazel scolded her.

"Yeah Thalia, geez even I knew that!" Nico added.

"Okay, all right!" Thalia roared. And then she knocked gently on my door and said "Percyyy, time to wake up I made breakfast!"

I shuddered, Thalia's cooking usually meant a trip to the hospital, but I still got up and shouted "Coming, just go to the table already!"

I heard them shuffle away and silence reigned once more. I groaned, ugh I was so not ready to deal with today. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, but it didn't work. I hope they made coffee at least.

I came out of my room, while running my hand through my hair, when I looked up because someone dropped a spoon.

"Dude..." Piper said with wide eyes.

Actually, everyone was looking at me with wide eyes.

Or, more specifically at my torso. And then I felt a cold breeze on my still naked chest. Oh, oh shit. I forgot to put on a shirt last night. Aaaaand then I felt that same breeze on my legs.

Pants. I took off my pants, but didn't put on new ones.

Excellent.

I was now standing in front of my friends _in my boxers_.

Fantastic.

That's one way to get rid of all traces of sleep from my system.

I cleared my throat. "Uhm... I'm just gonna...yeah..." I said, pointing to my room.

"Um...dude, are those... hickeys?" Nico asked incredulously.

Oh right. Those. I forgot about that.

I blushed. "Um...no?"

"MY BOY!" Leo shouted, giving me a hug. "You're a MAN now! THE man!"

I returned the hug reluctantly. "Thanks for the support buddy, but uhh... You mind letting me go so that I can go get dressed?"

He let go. "Sure sure, but you have got to get back here soon. I want to hear everything!" He demanded.

I gave him a two fingered salute. "Roger that."

-Line Break-

I came back out in a white tee and black jeans, my hair still wet from the impromptu shower.

Everyone suddenly stopped whispering and giggling. I rolled my eyes, what are we? Middle schoolers?

I grabbed some toast and coffee and sat on the couch and started munching away. I was quiet for all but 2 minutes before Leo exploded and said "Dude! What the hell happened?!"

I held up my hand and kept on chewing slowly on my piece of toast, relishing all of the impatient looks they were giving.

After I was done chewing, I grabbed my mug of coffee and took the longest sip in history.

Nico gave me an unamused look. "Seriously?"

I gave them all a shit-eating grin after I was done. "I'M so sorry, but all of your faces, gods that was priceless."

"Uh-huh, let's see if you still think that with my foot on your face." Thalia deadpanned.

I gulped. "All right, all right." I grumbled. "So, what's up with you guys?"

"Percy!" Everyone shouted. I winced.

"Okay, okay...Hmm... Where should I begin?" I wondered.

"How about the beginning?" Grover suggested 'helpfully'.

"Yeah, no shit." Jason deadpanned.

"Right, so... I went to her apartment, and knocked on her door. You should've seen her faces guys, it looked at me like I was-"

"-a sexy beast?" Leo guessed.

"...I wish, no she looked at me like I was a ghost or something. Anyways, she saw how drenched I was so she invited me in and-"

"-It was on like donkey kong." Nico shouted with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Uhm... Not exactly... She made me chocolate milk."

Everyone looked at me stunned.

"She made you..." Frank started.

"...chocolate milk?" Grover finished.

"Is that code for something else?" Hazel said scandalized.

"What? No!" I said with a blush. "What one earth could that even be code for?!"

They shrugged. "I don't know..."

I looked at everyone weirdly. "Anyway, as I was saying we had some chocolate milk, and then chased her because she refused to give me the blue marshmallows and-"

"Oh, that is SO code for something!" Jason exclaimed.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What? No! What could that-"

Piper interrupted me. "Sorry Aquaboy but I have to agree with Sparky on this one. That has got to be code for... OH, I know! Blue balls. She gave you blue balls didn't she?2

"What? No!" I said, blushing profusely. "Where did you get that idea from?!"

She shrugged. "I don't know, think about. Blue marshmallows... What else could that mean?"

"Um, literally. They were-" I tried to explain.

"-Oh, yeah I see what you mean!" Thalia interrupted me. Gods, will I ever get to finish this story?! "Blue marshmallows is so code for blue balls!"

"No! It isn't-"

"Oh, I like that!" Leo said with glee. "From now on that's our code for blue balls too."

Everyone murmured their agreements, I just face palmed. Sometimes, I really wished we were normal...

"Guys, Percy was telling a story!" Hazel scolded them. Oh Hazel, I love you so much right now! You are my angel.

"Now, go on Percy, tell us what happened after she gave you blue marshmallows." she said with a wink.

Never mind, she's the devil.

"Ugh, first and for all blue marshmallows is **not** code for blue balls. I feel like I shouldn't have to say that...-"

"-agree to disagree." Leo interjected. I ignored him.

"..-Second and for all, she refused to give me the packet of blue marshmallows. That's why I was chasing her, and when I finally caught her, we fell on her bed and well..."

"It was on like donkey kong." Nico said with a suggestive tone.

"...Not how I would've put it, but yeah.. it was that." I said sheepishly.

"Wait, but that was like the day before yesterday." Jason remarked. "You were gone all day yesterday."

"Oh my gods, you weren't... I mean, you and Rachel weren't...all day?" Frank said with a gasp, looking at me scandalized.

I blushed. "It's not what you think."

"Dayumn, Perce. All day long?" Nico said, sounding very pleased and impressed.

"Didn't know you had it in you Kelp Head." Thalia said appreciatively.

"I'm still calling you Aquaboy." Piper commented.

"What? Why! I'm a man now!" I said indignantly.

She shrugged. "Not to me you aren't."

"Is that a challenge McLean?"

"Please, you wouldn't be able to handle it Jackson."

"Wanna bet?"

"I dare you."

Our faces were really close, and we were glaring at each other with venom.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "So...uh...You and Rachel...are you like...together?"

And that sobered me up, she's gone... They must've seen my face fall.

"Percy? You okay?" Annabeth asked with a concerned face.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah...it...it's just.. she left. She's gone." I said, my voice cracking and sounding hollow even to my own ears.

"Oh Percy..." Annabeth said, sitting beside my end putting her arm around me. "I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, right." I said with a sniffle. "You never even liked her."

"True, but... She did make you happy, and I hate seeing you like this." she told me earnestly. I nodded, and put my head on her shoulders.

"Want a drink?" Nico proposed.

"Nico! It's 8 in the morning!" Hazel told him.

"...so?"

I shook my head. "Thanks for the offer dude, but I think I'll pass. I just want to watch some cartoons and not think about it."

"All right Perce." Piper said with a soft tone. "Whatever you want."

Everyone joined us on the couch and we put on Bob's Burgers and just watched in silence.

This was nice.

I'm so lucky to have them.

* * *

 **Welp, there you go. A lot sooner than I thought, but hey, I guess that's good news for you guys! This one is really more of a filler chapter though, I'm sorry for that :( I really did need to write this one for the next one. We'll get to the good stuff, I swear! I think from now on all of my chapters will be around 5k words, so yay for that! I think I'll be updating hmm... I dunno maybe next week Wednesday? By then I'll have done 4 of the 7 exams, so I'll have a little more free time and leeway. Stay tuned though, with my procrastination, who knows when that new chapter will come out ;) Tell me what you thought of this chapter, I appreciate the feedback :D**

 **I do have a question for you guys though:**

 **Do you guys think I should write their Senior Year in a new story or just keep it in this story? I don't mind either way, it's just something I've been wondering. I think it'll be around 25-35 chapters long, so that'll make this story around...70 chapters give or take. So I could do that, OR just make it a sort of 'sequel' that's around 25-35 chapters long. Let me know which one you guys prefer ;)**

 **Now onto the reviews:**

 **To NONAME2002: Ha thanks dude ;) And as for what will happen with Percy... Guess you'll have to read and see ;P I've got a couple of ideas already, so...Stay tuned!**

 **To Riptide013: YASSS, I couldn't let this story die! I made a promise to all of you, I can't back down NOW! And aww, thanks dude, I appreciate it :) I can't believe my story could ever be someone's favorite, so thank you for that haha. I don't think I'll ever get tired of that pun tbh.. And as for your suggestion...He does seem to do that a lot, who knows, maybe he'll do it again ;D**

 **To Freakofnature65: First and for all, love your profile pic. Seriously, It. is like one of my all time fav horror movies! And thank you so much! I appreciate you reading my story :) As for Reyna, yeah I've got some plans for her, don't you worry your pretty little face ;)**

 **To Anna: Aw, love you too ;) And for real, if they're not dead, taken or family, then anything goes when it comes to relationships in this fanfic :P**

 **To BlackThorn47: My man! Great to see you again! And no way can this be the best and most intense story on fanfiction. Seriously, there are some amazing fanfics out there. And yeah, I feel bad for them too, but don't worry, it'll all work out somehow in the end. I'm supposed to know how lol, but yea.. I'll just have to wing it XD.**

 **To JamieValdez: Don't worry dude, I had to reread it like 2 times too, and I'm the goddamn author... And yesssss, I mean, cool, cool, fishes are cool. nice to hear that your life is poppin right now :)**

 **To RoyalFox89: Yo, my man! How you doing? How's life treating you? Good I hope :). Thank you, I appreciate your support :D I swear I am never gonna get tired of that pun. Tbh, I think the only reason I even named this fanfic 'Hooked' was because of _that_ pun lmao. As for the endgame of it all, seriously I dunno. I mean, I wouldn't mind Percy and Rachel either, I seriously think they could be good together. But I'm kinda biased about Percy will basically anyone, soo...yeah. I could see this fic ending in so many different ways, idk what I'm gonna do lol. And I have so much planned, but I have to figure out how to fit it all in... Sometimes winging it is So difficult I swear... I mean, I'm still gonna do it lol, but I wonder how this fanfic would've turned if I actually  planned things in advance...Ah well..**

 **To Daerdic Prince of The Vault: Welcome, dude, to the dark side. Lol, nah I'm kidding! But heeeeeereee you gooo. moooore ;D**

 **Welp, that's all for today! Once again, thank you to all the people that have reviewed so far, are reviewing or are plannig to review. You guys are da real OG's ;)**

 **I wish you all a happy life and a great year ahead.**

 **See you in the next one ;)**

 **Joy.**


	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the characters.**

 **Annabeth's POV**

FLASHBACK

" _Sooo, Annie, what are Percys pros in your opinion?" Thalia repeated gleefully._

" _Don't call me that!" I told her wearily._

" _Don't dodge the question." She shot back with a smirk. Ugh, she is SO annoying sometimes._

" _All right, fine! Well...Even though he can make the jokes at the wrong time, he IS funny." I conceded._

 _Everyone nodded. "True, plus him and Leo together...That's just the best." Piper said._

" _Unless you guys are having prank war." Thalia deadpanned._

 _We all shuddered. "Yeah, that wasn't pretty." Hazel said horrified._

" _Huh now that you mention it... it HAS been a while since I last pranked them..." Piper mumbled._

" _No." I deadpanned. "You are_ _ **not**_ _pranking them. We always, always, ALWAYS get caught in the crossfire."_

 _Piper held her hands up. "Okay, okay, I won't prank them." And then she winked._

" _Piper, we're serious!" Thalia said._

" _I know, I know, me too!" And then she winked again._

" _Say it without winking." Hazel demanded._

 _Piper scoffed." Okay, if you all insist. I will not prank Percy or Leo."_

 _..._

 _And then she winked again._

" _Godsdammit Piper, fine if you insist on pranking them, then wait until prom." I said exasperated._

" _Okay, I don't know why you're saying that, I wasn't planning anything at all, but fine." She conceded. "If I was planning on something, which I wasn't, I'll wait till prom."_

 _We all sighed, at least we were able to temporarily avoid it._

" _Okay, so so far under pros we have: Oblivious, good kisser and funny." Hazel read out. "What else?"_

" _Hmm, well he's hot." Piper said. And then she saw us all look at her. "I said that out loud didn't?"_

 _We all nodded._

" _Great, just great...But you can't deny it."_

" _Yeah, he is pretty good looking." Thalia agreed. "Don't you think so, Annie?"_

 _I blushed. I mean, objectively speaking, yeah Seaweed Brain_ _ **is**_ _... hot. His perpetually messy hair, his mesmerizing sea green eyes, a jawline that could cut glass, those damned cheekbones of his... And his smile. It is so unfair that he has those cute dimples! Gods, and his body..._

 _I shook my head and cleared my throat. "Yeah, I suppose he's okay."_

" _Right, you might want to get rid of the drool." Piper snickered._

" _What? Where?!" I shrieked, grabbing a mirror. "Oh, ha ha, there isn't any drool."_

" _Why would you think there was?" Hazel asked with a gleam with her eyes. "Unless...you were thinking of something or, some_ _ **one**_ _that would make you drool?"_

" _Oh, shut up. I wasn't...I wouldn't...I mean, no way..." I stuttered out with a blush. "Let's just move on, shall we?"_

 _The girls all shared this look of amusement, before nodding. "Okaay, but this isn't over." Thalia said with a smirk directed at me. Ugh, why are my friends like this? I really should branch out..._

" _Let's see... Oh, well Percy is also really loyal!" I said._

" _Yeah, that guy is so loyal, I'd say it was his loyal flaw." Piper agreed._

" _True, true, but those are qualities you'd want in a boyfriend." Hazel commented. "Okay, so loyal af."_

" _Hmm what else?" Thalia asked._

 _I thought about him again, and all the things I liked about him. "Oh, well, he's very compassionate."_

" _You thinking about the time he nursed you back to health when you had the flu?" Piper said with a shit-eating grin._

 _I blushed, yet again. "He did not nurse me back to health! He just.. He came over and made me chicken soup...and gave me water when I needed it...and..yeah."_

 _Hazel looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed. "Uhm, do you know what 'nursing back to health' means? Because it's everything you just said."_

 _I opened my mouth and then closed it._

" _Yeah, and didn't you feel a lot better after he came over?" Thalia dded. "You were literally healthy the next day."_

 _And then I thought about it._

 _FLASHBACK_ (omg, flashback-ception you guys :o)

 _U gh, this sucks. I hate having the flu. Especially on friends night! Gods, everyone's probably all snuggled up and watching Titans without me._

 _Before I could continue feeling sorry for myself, I heard someone enter the house. Oh shit. Who could that be?! Mom and dad are away on some weekend getaway, the twins were at a sleepover party, I was all alone. Oh my gods, what if it's some sexual predator?!_

 _I grabbed the lamp from my bedside table and sneaked my way downstairs. Okay, I can hear him... He's close.I just have to wait until he rounds this corner and I'll smash him with the lamp. Not the best plan ever, but hey give me a break, I'm sick at the moment._

 _I shouted and raised the lamp, but before it could connect with his head I heard him shout in a familiar voice "Woah! Wise Girl, it's me, Percy! Stop!"_

" _Percy?" I said confusedly. Oh my gods... I'm sicker than I thought... I'm starting to hallucinate now._

 _He lowered his arms. "Yeah, it's just me, chill."_

" _What are you doing here? And how did you get in?!"_

" _I got in with the a spare key. As for why I'm here..Well... Thalia told me you were sick."_

" _Where did you get a key?"_

" _Hazel."_

" _Oh, yeah, okay. And, yeah I've got the flu. But, why did you come?"_

" _Well... Thalia told me you were alone this weekend, and I thought you could use the company." Wow...that was really...sweet of him._

" _Oh...But, don't you want to be with the others? It's friend night!"_

" _Yeah, I know... But I figured you need me more right now. I'm sure they'll survive without me."_

" _Wow, I don't know what to say.."_

 _He gave me a dimply smile, and I felt my heart flutter. Damn, I really am sicker than I thought. And then he frowned._

" _You shouldn't be up right now, come on. Let's get you back to bed, you need your rest."_

 _I nodded. "Okay, but what are you gonna do while I sleep."_

" _Eh, I figured I could make you some chicken soup. That always makes me feel better when I'm sick."_

 _We were now in my room, I was going in my bed and he was leaning in the doorway._

" _You know how to cook?"_

" _You don't have to sound so surprised you know." He said with a smile._

" _I'm not... Okay, maybe I am surprised.. I don't know, I never really thought about it."_

 _He shrugged. "One can only eat so much take out, before getting sick of it."_

" _What about your parents? Don't they cook for you?"_

" _Yeah, they do when they're there, which isn't much lately."_

 _I frowned. "Are you okay with that?"_

 _He was now tucking me in. Oddly, I didn't mind at all._

" _Nah, they're off saving the world, doing their own thing. I can't be mad at them for that. I get it, and it's fine. I'm a big boy now, can take care of myself."_

" _Don't you miss them?"_

 _He looked into my eyes and gave me this sad, small smile. "Rest up Wise Girl, you can interview me later."_

 _I wanted to argue some more, but it was getting increasingly hard to keep my eyes open. He just kissed me on the top of my head and whispered "Sweet dreams Annabeth."_

 _I woke up to this heavenly smell, and followed it._

 _It was coming from the kitchen._

" _Hooked on a feeling... I'm high on believing..That you're in love with me! Hooked on a feeling!" Percy sang._

 _I looked at him in a amusement. He is so cute sometimes. I continued observing him dance and sing around my kitchen, and I have to admit. He sounded really good._

 _When the song ended, I clapped loudly, scaring him half to death in the process._

" _Jesus, Annabeth! Don't sneak up on a guy like that!" He said, his hands on his heart._

" _Sorry, I was mesmerized by your voice." I said jokingly._

 _He smirked, "Ha, yeah not the first time I've heard that, so I get it."_

 _I rolled my eyes. "You go around singing in girls' kitchen that often?"_

 _He winked. "Nope, you're the first." What the fuck, why is my heart fluttering again?_

" _Lucky me." I deadpanned, but I did mean it. I mean, how many guys would give up hanging out with their friends to make soup for another friend?_

" _Yeah, you are. Hey...wait a minute...What are you doing up? You should be in bed!"_

" _Damn Percy, not even gonna buy me dinner first huh?"_

 _He blushed and started sputtering "What? No...I didn't... I mean...Not like that...I just...Ugh, damnit Annabeth, I'm already making you dinner!"_

 _I laughed. "Relax Seaweed Brain, I'm kidding! But seriously, how am I gonna eat in my bed?"_

" _Never ate in your bed before huh? That's sad."_

" _Shut up."_

" _Will do, if you go to your bed."_

" _Ugh, all right mom."_

" _Shut up, I am not a mom! If anything, I'd be a dad."_

" _You sure got the dad jokes down."_

" _I know! I'd make an awesome father."_

" _Sure."_

" _Is that sarcasm I detect?"_

" _Noooo."_

 _He pouted. "That's mean. Go to your room!"_

" _All right, all right."_

 _After a while, he came into my room with a bowl of soup. I was ready to take it, but he shook his head._

" _Percy, give me the soup. How else am I gonna eat it?"_

" _What if you spill? This stuff is hot! Not as hot as me, but still!"_

 _I rolled my eyes."I'll be fine. I know how to eat soup."_

" _Nope, as your friend, it is my duty to make sure you don't get hurt. Or, try to at least."_

" _Ugh, fine. How am I gonna eat it then? You gonna feed me?" I blushed after I said that, because I was imagining what that would be like._

 _He was also blushing, and then he cleared his throat. "I mean... It is the only way... That is, if you don't mind."_

" _Euh, yeah, no yeah...That makes sense."_

" _All right, euh... I guess I'll get cracking then."_

 _And then he proceeded to feed me the soup. It was... Oddly intimate if I'm being honest. The way he was looking at me, the frown he got when he thought it was too hot. He looked... cute._

" _You're cute when you're worried." I muttered._

 _He chuckled, but I swear his peeks looked pink. "Wow Wise Girl, you are sicker than I thought. You're outright delirious right now. You sure you're feeling fine?" And then he put his hand on my forehead._

" _Damn, you're burning up." He muttered. "You should get some sleep."_

 _And then he stood up._

" _Where you going?"_

 _He looked at the window, it was dark out. Wow, time flew by faaast!_

" _To the couch. Gotta catch some shut eye myself."_

" _Wait... Can you just...Stay with me please?"_

 _He furrowed his eyebrows. "You sure?"_

 _I nodded. "Just until I fall asleep?"_

" _... All right" And then he sat at the end of my bed._

 _I rolled my eyes and grinned. "You can come closer you know."_

" _Uhh... I think I'm good here, thanks."_

" _Move your ass on over here Seaweed Brain."_

" _Well.. Since you asked so nicely."_

 _And he sat a little closer._

" _Geez, what's your problem? I don't bite you know."_

 _And he sat a little closer._

 _I patted the space beside me. "Come on Seaweed Brain."_

 _He ran his hand through his hair. "You sure? I don't want to... Overstep any boundaries or anything."_

" _It'll be fine! We're all friends here."_

 _He frowned a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right."_

 _And he lay down beside me._

" _Hey, thanks for coming." I whispered. "I really appreciate it."_

 _He smiled at me. "Anything for you Wise Girl."_

" _Why me?"_

" _Because... Because I... Because you're my friend Annabeth."_

 _I hugged him. "Thanks Seaweed Brain."_

 _He rested his head on the top of mine._

" _Anything for you Wise Girl."_

 _And honestly? At that moment, I felt better than I ever have._

 _END FLASHBACK_

" _All right fine, yes he nursed me back to health! There, you happy?"_

" _Very." Thalia said with a grin._

" _Hey, now that I think about it, being impulsive could also be a pro." Piper exclaimed._

 _Hazel frowned. "How?"_

" _Well, it's Percy we're talking about. That guy can be pretty romantic, when he doesn't try. Pair that up with impulsive, and you get awesome memories."_

" _True, true. He'd always be down to cause a little trouble." Thalia commented._

" _Hey, as long as it's not with Piper or Leo, it's a pro." I joked, half-serious though._

 _Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Piper, she just pouted._

" _Seriously you guys, we're not THAT bad!" She insisted._

" _Based on past experiences? Yes, yes you guys are THAT bad." Thalia retorted. Piper just grumbled to herself._

" _He's also pretty patient." Hazel commented._

" _Percy? Patient?" Thalia said with wide eyes. "Are we talking about the same Percy here?"_

" _I don't know Thals, " Piper started, "he is waiting for a chance with.. well you know who."_

 _Thalia's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah... you're right... I forgot about that."_

 _I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you guys talking about? Who is he waiting for?"_

" _one." The three of them said at the same time. And then they looked at each other appreciatively._

" _Aw, come on! Tell me! I feel so left out right now!"_

" _Uhm.. Percy's waiting for.." Hazel started slowly._

" _The one!" Piper finished._

" _Yeah, he's not rushing into a relationship with every girl that wants to be with him."_

 _I frowned. "Uhh...okay? I guess that is some form of patience?"_

" _Exactly!" Thalia exclaimed. "Put it on the board."_

" _Putting it on the board." Hazel repeated._

" _okay, so Annabeth... Thinking about Percy.. Has that... made you realize something?" Piper asked, observing me closely. Huh, they were all observing me closely._

 _I frowned at them. "Uhh... Why are you guys staring at me?"_

" _No reason." Thalia answered. "Now answer the question."_

" _Uhh... No, not really? I mean, I guess it made me realize how great of a friend Percy is?"_

 _They all looked disappointed._

" _Damn, I really thought this would work!" Piper grumbled._

" _Maybe we were wrong?" Thalia theorized. "Maybe she does think of them as just friends."_

" _Yeah, if she hasn't realized it by now... Maybe there is nothing TO realize." Hazel said._

" _What the hades are you guys talking about?!" I shouted._

 _They all shared another look._

" _Should we tell her?" Hazel wondered._

" _Guys, seriously, tell me what?" I asked exasperated._

" _It's nothing Annabeth, we thought maybe you liked Percy but we were obviously wrong." Piper confessed._

 _I frowned. "What? Me and Percy? Me, like Percy? That's... That's ridiculous! We're just... We're just friends!"_

 _Thalia nodded her head. "Yeah, we got that. Seriously Annie, don't worry, we won't tease you anymore about that."_

" _..wait is that why I had to write this list?! To make me realize I liked Percy or something? Guys, I have a boyfriend!" I said indignantly._

 _They all looked... apologetic._

" _We're really sorry Annabeth." Hazel said._

" _Yeah, seriously. We were trying to look out for you!" Thalia said._

" _How? Just...How?!"_

" _Well... We didn't want things between you and Derek become too serious_ _ **if**_ _you liked Percy. But, now that we're 100% sure you're not into Percy, we're totally on board with you and Derek." Piper confessed._

" _Why would you guys think I like Percy?"_

 _They shrugged. "I dunno, I guess the way you seem down whenever you guys don't hang out for a while." Thalia theorized._

" _Or how crazy jealous and possessive you get when it comes to him." Hazel added._

" _Or just because of the way you looked at him." Piper confessed._

" _How.. How do I look at him?"_

 _She shrugged. "Honestly? Kind of like he's the most precious thing in the world."_

" _What? I think you need glasses Pipes, I mean yes, I like Percy as much as then next girl but he and I are just... friends. Yeah, I'm with Derek, I like him."_

 _She held up her hands. "Trust me Annabeth, we got it. You don't have to worry about us anymore, right girls?"_

 _They all nodded._

" _Hey, let's go do some more research for the Oracle serial killer!" Hazel proposed._

" _YES! We should watch this documentary on Netflix!" Thalia exclaimed._

" _Yass, I'll go make some popcorn!" Piper shouted._

 _And so everyone left the room. I stood up, ready to leave, but I took one more look at the list. What if..._

 _I did like him?_

END FLASHBACK

"Hey, you okay?" Percy asked me, snapping me out of my reverie. We were currently in the kitchen, grabbing some drinks.

"Uh, yeah... Sorry, got lost in my thoughts I guess."

He snorted. "I'm not surprised... If I thought half as much as you did, I'd probably get lost all the time."

"Ha, as if you could handle having as many thoughts as I could."

"Got me there Wise Girl."

"You know it Seaweed Brain."

"But, seriously, you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "You're worried about something."

I frowned. "How can you tell?"

"Whenever you worry about something, you get this little crease, right here in between your eyes. All I want to do is smooth it out."

And then he did. I felt electricity shoot from his finger into my skin, and my heart fluttered at the smile he gave me. This... This isn't a normal to get from a friend, is it?

"I guess... I'm uhh... I'm just thinking about you and Rachel."

And his face fell. "Ah... yeah..."

"Oh gods, I'm sorry Percy."

He shook his head. "Woah, hey, I'm fine Annabeth... I mean, yeah, obviously it sucks that she left so soon but... We had some great memories together."

I smiled uneasily. "Right."

Aaaand cue the awkward moment. Awesome.

He cleared his throat. "I.. we probably should go back, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. Probably." How is it, that I can still feel his hands on my face? Why aren't the butterflies going... Oh.

Oh shit.

Butterflies?

I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my photo's. I looked at a picture of me and Percy we took when I was sick. The butterflies intensified. But when I looked at a picture of me and Derek... Nothing.

Oh. My. Gods...

I'm in love with Percy...

What the actual fuck?!

 **Percy's POV**

"You guys...what are we gonna do? Exams are like in a month or something and I haven't studied for shit!" Jason suddenly shouted.

"Oh my gods, you're right!" Hazel said in a panicked voice.

"Hey, Hazelnut, calm down it'll be all right." Frank tried to comfort her.

"How can you possibly know that Frank?! You don't know that!" Jason shouted.

"Yeah, Frank! If we fail we probably won't be allowed to go to prom!" Hazel retorted.

"Oh my gods what are we gonna do?!" Jason said, grabbing his hair with both hands.

"I don't know, oh gods, oh gods!" Hazel wailed.

"You guys done with your little freak out session." Thalia deadpanned.

"No!" Jason shouted. "Why aren't you guys freaking out?!"

Piper walked up to him and slapped him. Well, damn.

"You good now Sparky?"

He shook his head, but paled when he saw her raise her hands again. "All right, all right! I'm calm. I'm calm, don't slap me again!"

"You sure? I don't mind doing it again one bit." Piper told him.

"That actually looked like fun! I wanna try next!" Leo said excitedly.

Piper sighed. "Fine, you get next turn, but I get the one after that. Deal?"

"Deal!" Leo shouted, high-fiving her.

"Guys, I'm calm! Seriously. I'm good." He tried to say reassuringly.

"I don't know little brother..." Thalia started, sending him a wicked smile, "I can still hear faint traces of panic in your voice."

His eyes widened and he started sweating. "What? No! I'm totally chill right now, just like Hazel. Right Hazel?"

She nodded her head profusely. "Yeah, we're good. We have calmed down. There is absolutely no need to slap any of us."

"All righty." Piper said cheerfully. "Holler if you start feeling panicky again."

"Besides, there's really nothing to worry about." Annabeth told them. "We still have like a month and a half!"

"Easy for you to say!" Jason exploded, until he saw Piper and Leo look at their hands appreciatively. After that he seemed to calm down exponentially. "Uhh... as I was saying in a very calm and concise manner because I am very calm person right now... and in general... of course _you_ wouldn't be worried."

"Right, you've got a 4.0 GPA." Nico said.

"Well, yeah, your point being?"

"You're probably gonna ace it, duh." Piper said.

"Guys, it'll be fine! We just have to start as soon as possible." Grover proposed. "Like, right now."

Hazel nodded her head seriously. "Yes, you are absolutely correct Grover. We have to study from now on. No more messing around."

"Hey, I never agreed to that!" Leo said indignantly. "I don't want to do that!"

Hazel looked at him skeptically. "So you think you'll pass the exams if you don't start studying now?"

"..."

"I thought so."

"...shut up. Argh, fine! We'll study."

"It'll be fine." Frank said reassuringly.

"Yeah, I'll make it fun!" Annabeth exclaimed.

Everyone else groaned.

"Hey, I can make it fun. I am a very fun person!" She said indignantly.

"Ha, yeah, no, yeah you're a hoot." Leo said sarcastically.

"Watch it Valdez. You think I'm fun, right Seaweed Brain?"And everyone looked at me. During this whole exchange, I was kind of zoned out to be honest. I guess I was still hung up on Rachel. Gods, I can't start thinking about her. I should've run after her, gods what was I thinking? I am such an idiot.

"Percy?" Frank asked, while waving his hand in front of my face.

I shook my head. "uh, yeah. Right, sorry. What were we talking about again?"

"Uhm ,the upcoming exams." Leo said with a worried frown aimed at me.

"Ohh, right exams are coming up..." Wait a minute. That's it! A distraction! Yeah, this is perfect! Instead of moping all day thinking about Rachel, I'll just throw myself in my studies again! Gods, I haven't taken them all that serious all year long, but I swear, I am gonna be the most focused motherfucker of the school!

I suddenly stood up, scaring Frank and well...everyone else in the process, and said excitedly. "Oh, my gods! This is perfect! We should totally ace the exams!"

Everyone looked at me weirdly and worriedly. Probably cause of my sudden mood-shift. I don't blame em I guess.

"Uhm, yeah, no yeah, that... that would be great." Jason stuttered.

"You okay there Percy?" Grover asked me.

I nodded my head. "Better than okay! I'm good! I am so pumped right now, let's do this thing!"

"You sure?" Annabeth asked me with a concerned gaze. I am slowly getting sick and tired of those concerned and worried glances directed at me, and it's only been a day...

I nodded my head profusely. "Yes! We should make a study planning! Right now! Let me just get the big white board." I muttered, going into the kitchen.

"Uh, guys? Where did the big white board go?" I asked them confusedly.

"Oh, I think I saw Piper put it in the study." Nico said.

Piper nodded her head. "Yeah, it's in the study."

"Wh-... I'm not... I'm not even gonna ask why anymore..." I said, shaking my head.

"Wait a sec..." I heard Piper mutter horrified.

"Oh, oh shit." I heard Annabeth shout suddenly.

Huh, wonder why?

-Line Break

I walked into the study to get the white board, when I noticed that it wasn't empty. Huh, weird. Probably for their stupid oracle serial killer story, I reasoned. Until I saw my name at the top of the white board. And a pros and cons list under it. What. The. Fuck?!

I grabbed it and walked into the living room.

"Uhm, guys... Why is there a pros and cons list about me on the whiteboard?" I asked them all confusedly.

The guys, looked all equally confused as I was, and the girls all looked either guilty worried, sheepish or just on the brink of a nervous breakdown. What the Hades?

"Hey Hazel, why is it in your handwriting?" Frank remarked.

Hazel's eyes widened, and it seemed like she was lot closer to that nervous breakdown than she did a second ago. "Uhm..well...you see.., uh.." She stuttered out. "I...We...uhh.."

"Wait, Hazel didn't write it alone. I helped." Piper confessed.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What? Okay, but why-"

"I helped too." Thalia announced.

"Uhm, all right? But why-"

"Me too!" Annabeth added, albeit reluctantly.

"But why?!" I screamed out. Geez, what is this? Interrupt Percy day?

The girls all exchanged uneasy looks, obviously holding some secret convo. I don't know how either, to be honest.

"Girls, why the Hades did you guys write a pros and cons list about me?!"

"Uhm...Well..you see.. we wrote that list because..." Piper started slowly, "we wanted to...help you...uh Thalia? Wanna give me a hand here?"

"No I think you're doing great sweetie."

Piper glared at Thalia. "Then again, why not? We wanted to help you, Percy, by letting you know...your pros and cons for... Uh Annabeth? Little help?"

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Right, yeah sure... It was for...your benefit! For uhh your...relationship with, uhh...Hazel? Help?"

Hazel's eyes widened. "Uh, your relationship...with...Rachel! Yeah, so that uhh, so that you would know.."Hazel mumbled.

"What your good and bad qualities are." Piper finished, sounding pleased. "So, yeah.. we wrote it so that you'd know your strengths and weaknesses in general!"

I blinked. "Wow, that... is so nice of you guys! You didn't have to go trough all that trouble for me though!"

The girls looked extremely relieved and pleased at my reaction. Heh, guess they thought I was gonna be mad or something.

"We wanted to!" Annabeth answered cheerily.

"Hey, why didn't you ask us for help?" Leo cried out.

"Yeah, we totally could've added helpful insights to that list!" Nico stated.

"Huh, wait... why didn't you girls make it with the guys?" I asked them confusedly.

The girls all shared panicked looks.

"Umm...we didn't ask the guys because, uhh..." Hazel started slowly. Oh no.. not this again!

"The guys already helped you with your first date with Rachel!" Thalia shouted excitedly, before clearing her throat. "Right Piper?"

"Uh, yeah! We felt like it was our turn to contribute to your relationship with Rachel!" Piper exclaimed.

Me and the guys nodded at that. Yeah, that does make sense.

"We uh...we didn't know that Rachel already left though.." Annabeth confessed uneasily.

And I had to blink back tears at that. No, not gonna think about that right now. I cleared my throat.

"Right, well yeah. That makes sense. Well... I guess I'll just take a pic of this list for... uh, for future reference huh?"

"Seems like a solid plan." Nico admitted.

But then I actually read the list.

"What?! I am not overdramatic!" I cried out indignantly. "Name one example! I dare you!"

"When you called me in tears at 2 am because blueberries weren't actually blue, but purple." Piper deadpanned. Oh...Yeah, I actually forgot about that.

"All right, fine. Maybe that was-"

"That time you dropped your sherbet ice cream cone and wailed like a widow at a funeral. And then you proceeded to put on the funeral march when the worker cleaned it up." Thalia recalled.

"Okay, that's enough. I said one-"

"Oh, or how you squeal every time we pass a black dog. Every. Single. Time." Annabeth stressed.

"Wait a minute, I said-"

"Oooh, or how you tear up every time we watch or even talk about Titanic!" Hazel interrupted me.

"That's not fair. They only had each other!" I said, tearing up a little already at the thought of Jack and Rose. Gods, I want what they had.

"Oh, OH, what abut that time when you were 5 and you didn't know fish needed water to survive, so you freaked out when you saw a goldfish at the carnival so you tried to give it CPR?" Nico revealed.

"Hey! I told you that in confidence! You weren't-" I started indignantly.

"Or when our jam comes on and we dance our dance, no matter where we are. Supermarket. Cafe, Restaurant." Leo said excitedly. Gods, is everyone gonna add to that way too big list of examples? I asked for **one** example. One!

"Ooh, I have one! This one time on the bus, when there was a problem with the engine and you started screaming and ran out of the bus?" Grover added 'helpfully'. Seriously G-man? You too?

"Seriously Percy?" Frank asked with an amused look.

"I thought there was a bomb." I said defensively.

"You also thought you saw three old ladies knitting a giant sock." Grover said unconvinced.

"I did! I did see three old ladies knit a giant sock!" I insisted.

"The how come when I looked, there was no one?!"

"I don't know! Magic? Blindness? Geez, I can't explain every little thing that goes on in the world!"

"Why would there be three old ladies knitting a giant sock on the side of the road anyways? That is a _horribl_ e idea!"

"I don't know Grover! I wasn't the on knitting the socks now, was I?"

"You might as well have!"

"Hey, you're one to talk! You should've seen your face after I told you that! You looked like you were deciding which flowers to bring to my funeral!"

"Yeah, because my friend was _literally_ seeing old ladies all over the place!"

"It was just those three old ladies, and only on the side of the road!"

"Oh yeah, because _that_ makes it better."

"It was just the one time!"

"No, it wasn't! It was like three times!"

"Guys, this is _literally_ the stupidest argument you've ever had." Thalia interrupted, while rubbing her temples.

"He started it!" I said, pointing to Grover.

"What? Nuh-uh!"

"Yah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"No! We are practically adults!" Piper shouted. "You guys are not gonna do that, gods."

"Ugh, fine." I relented.

"I won." Grover said smugly.

"You did not win! If anything-"

"Percy!" Thalia said in a warning tone.

"Ugh, fine whatever. Let's all just beat on Percy today, huh?" I grumbled. "No good stinking..."

"So you agree you're overdramatic?" Annabeth asked smugly.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, yes, I'm overdramatic. Anything to get you guys to stop recounting memories of me."

"Ha, Percy, do you really need a reminder to wear pants?" Nico read out.

I frowned. "What? I do NOT need a reminder to wear pants!" I shouted indignantly.

"What about that note I found that said 'put on pants' followed by a question mark?" Annabeth asked.

"Uhh... I was drunk?" I said, not really sure when this was. But... That did sound like me?

"What about this morning?" Piper asked smugly.

I blushed, because well... She had a point there.

"Argh, fine.." I admitted reluctantly.

"It's okay Percy, I have problems with wearing clothes too, well.. Sometimes." Frank tried to comfort me.

"Really?"

"Uh, well.. Sort of. I mean, I don't always know what to wear so.."

"... I'll take it. Thanks Frank. See this right here, is friendship! You guys could learn a thing or two from him!" I said.

"Hey, what do you mean dangerous, especially with Piper **and** Leo?!" Leo read out indignantly.

"Seriously?" I said in surprise. "How am I dangerous? Scratch that, how am I even more dangerous with Piper and Leo?!"

Piper shrugged. "I don't know either. They think we're a dangerous trio."

"I don't know... I kind of see what they mean.." Jason admitted.

"Bro!" I said indignantly.

"No, he's got a point Percy." Grover commented. "You guys seem to do the stupidest and most dangerous things when you're together."

"Yeah, remember the shopping cart incident?" Nico snorted.

Oh...

Yeah, okay...

FLASHBACK

" _I don't know guys..." I said reluctantly, looking at the steep hill. "This might just be, without a doubt, the stupidest plan we've ever had."_

 _Leo grinned. "Yeah, it probably is. For now. Which is why it's gonna be awesome! Right Pipes?"_

" _Got that right Repair Boy! You're not getting cold feet now are you Aqua Boy?" Piper shouted from the truck._

 _I gulped and straightened the helmet that sat haphazardly on my head. Whatever. It was way too small anyway, but who knows it might offer_ _some_ _protection in case I actually hit the ground. After all, our Shopping Cart Rocket Ship, Festus, didn't look all that stable to be honest.._

" _Fuck it, let's do it!" I shouted back excitedly._

" _Yes, my boy! This is gonna be so awesoooome!" Leo whooped. We both jumped into the shopping cart. I adjusted the rope that tied it to the old truck._

 _Piper grinned, and started the truck. It sputtered gently before roaring to life. Yeah, this was definitely a bad idea._

" _Ready!" Leo shouted with glee. "Just like I said!"_

 _Piper yelled in agreement and pressed down the gas. Right when we were rolling at a smooth speed, we all heard yelling._

 _Oh, I guess the rest of the gang found us. They were all running down the hill, waving their arms at us, probably trying to get us to stop. Leo and I waved back at them excitedly, while Piper floored it. It tugged and jerked Festus behind it, as we sped up._

 _Leo and I yelled, him in excitement, me in horror, when the cart hit a small pothole in the road, sending it flying to the side. We rolled on the concrete, I lost my helmet and face-planted on the asphalt._

 _Piper slammed the truck door and yelled "...It's my turn next! I'm next."_

 _While I groaned._

 _And Leo? Well, he got up and yelled. "Okay, I'll drive this time! Percy, Piper, you guys are up! Gods this was awesome."_

END FLASHBACK

All three of us rubbed the back of our necks sheepishly.

"Yeah... Okay, that may not have been the safest thing to do in the world." Piper admitted sheepishly.

"You guys could've died!" Annabeth exploded.

"But we didn't." Leo retorted gleefully. "It was so awesome!"

"Hell yeah!" Piper exclaimed, high-fiving him. "Right Perce?"

I cleared my throat, not liking the looks Annabeth, Nico, Jason and well... Everyone except Piper and Leo were giving me.

"Well..." I started "Was it dangerous? Yeah, definitely. But, was it awesome?... Yeah, yeah it was." I admitted reluctantly.

"But you guys admit you're a dangerous trio right?" Nico asked.

We all shared a look. "Fine, sometimes things may get out of hand when we hang out." Piper admitted reluctantly.

 **Nico's POV**

"Finally." I said.

"Yeah? Well what about when you, Percy and Leo hang out, huh?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"What about the time you guys came to friends night, drunk." Thalia started, " Leo covered in glitter and wearing sunglasses _at night_ , Percy with a _hickey_ the size of planet earth, and you with a split lip and a shiner?"

The three of us laughed sheepishly at that. Damn, she had a point.

"We never got an explanation for that." Hazel told us.

"I hope you guys have good explanation for that." Annabeth added.

I shared a look with Percy and Leo.

I cleared my throat. "Uh... actually..."

"We have three." Leo deadpanned.

"You guys can pick your favorite." Percy proposed.

Everyone else just face palmed.

"You know what? Just... Never mind..." Piper said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Oh yeah? Well what about Percy, Jason and Frank?" Leo countered.

"What about us?" Frank asked confusedly.

"You guys get kicked out of gyms _all the time_!" Leo said.

They started sweating.

"Holy shit, is that true?" I shouted.

Jason coughed slightly. "Uhm well... Sometimes."

"We might or might not be banned from one of the gyms.." Percy mumbled.

"How? How do you guys get kicked out of gyms?!" Piper wondered.

"Uhh, well... Sometimes, we get... a little competitive when we lift weights..." Frank admitted.

"And in those rare moments... Some equipments get... a little damaged." Jason continued.

"And gyms do _not_ like that. At all." Percy finished.

We all shook our heads.

"Oh yeah? Well, what about when Percy, Grover and Annabeth hang out?" Jason countered.

"What? What did we do?!" Grover asked indignantly.

"Yeah, with me and Grover around, nothing can happen!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"What about when we took that field trip St. Louis Arch?" I asked them gleefully.

"Oh." Annabeth said.

"Riight." Grover said. "Kinda forgot about that..."

"Well, to be fair, the one constant in all of this is.. Percy." Annabeth defended.

"Woah, hey!" Percy exclaimed.

"You do get into a lot of trouble." Thalia remarked.

"That's not true! I never got into trouble when I hung out with uh...with... Frank and Hazel!"

"Oh really?" Jason asked. "What about when you accidentally blew up the garden irrigation system of at grandma Zhang's house?"

"Well, that's not fair! It was on fire!" Percy defended.

"Yeah, why _was_ her house on fire anyway?" I asked them incredulously.

"Well... there were these thugs, trying to rob here place..." Percy started.

"So you set her house _on fire_?!"

"What?! No of course not!" Percy shouted.

"No, I shot a warning shot with the canon from the attic." Hazel explained.

"And I threw this stick that kinda looked like a spear." Frank added.

..."What?!" everyone shouted.

"What..Why... How..?" I stuttered out. "How the hell is this the first we're hearing of this?!"

"Yeah, and why was the house on fire?!" Piper shouted.

All three of them shrugged. "Guess it never came up.." Percy said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, as for the fire, well they got pretty mad.." Frank started.

"So they set her house on fire?!" Jason yelled.

Hazel waved her hand. "No, no! They got pretty mad and started yelling and stuff, so Franks grandma went outside to yell at them. The yelled back, but I guess she forgot about what she was cooking."

"And _that's_ how the house caught on fire." Frank finished.

"Wait... Why does your grandma own a canon?" Piper asked.

"Doesn't... Doesn't everyone's grandma own a canon in the attic?" Frank asked confusedly.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Oh... Then I have no idea."

"Uhh, okay... See Percy! Weird stuff happens when you're around!" Thalia exclaimed.

"Hey, that's not true! What about that time when you, Grover and Annabeth were being chased by a bunch of stray dogs in Central Park?" he retorted. "I didn't have anything to do with that!"

"I did not know, you knew about that!" Thalia replied sheepishly.

"While we're on that subject... Why _were_ you guys being chased by that pack of stray dogs?" I asked them incredulously.

Grover cleared his throat. "They looked nice."

"Yeah, right, I told you guys it wasn't a good idea!" Annabeth said.

"Hey, cut us some slack, we were just trying to help!" Thalia said defensively.

"By throwing pieces of meat at them?"

"Yes!"

"Why did you have meat in your backpack anyway?"

"...me and Grover were gonna use it for a protest..." Thalia admitted.

"Yeah, for our 'Meat is Murder' protest." Grover added.

"See? That didn't have anything to do with me!" Percy stated happily.

"Okay, fine, that's _one_ example!" Thalia admitted with an eye-roll.

"What about... Jason, Piper and Leo?" Percy countered.

"What about us?" Jason asked indignantly.

"That time you guys pissed of those French tourists in the museum." Percy recounted.

I laughed at that. "Oh, yeah! They chased you guys around, good times!"

"To be fair, I did TRY to explain to them Leo didn't mean to call them frogs." Piper said defensively. "They were being unreasonable."

"Oh, that's what I told that girl?" Leo asked incredulously. "Yeah, no wonder she got pissed... Man I have got to work on my French."

"I didn't do anything then!" Jason shouted.

"Didn't you hit on that guys' girlfriend?" Piper asked.

"Oh. Yeah... Forgot about that."

"Boom! See there Thalia? Yet another example, without ME in it!" Percy shouted gleefully.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine so we can't hang out with each other individually. Got it."

"Hey, that's not true! Me and Grover don't get into any trouble! Right Goat Boy?" Piper exclaimed.

Grover nodded. "Yeah! We just chill like normal people!"

"What?" Percy laughed. "What about that time when you guys showed up at my place at 3 in the morning with like 10 cages of white rabbits?"

"...that's not fair!" Piper exclaimed.

"Yeah! We were saving them from being tested on!" Grover explained.

Percy held his hands up. "Hey, look, I'm all for social justice. But did you guys have to bring them to _my_ place?"

"I couldn't bring them back to _my_ place!" Piper exclaimed. "My sisters would've definitely dressed them up or worse... My mom might've cooked them!"

"Yeah! And my place wasn't big enough!" Grover exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't call rescuing animals something that normal people do when they 'chill'." Percy retorted.

They shut up after that.

"Okay, well what about me and Hazel!" Jason shouted. "We don't get into any trouble when we hang out just the two of us!"

I scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You guys freak out so much alone, but when you're together, it's like you amp each other up."

"That's not true!" Hazel said indignantly.

"You guys were _just_ panicking about exams earlier." Piper deadpanned.

"Yeah, it's like when one of you panics, it makes the other panic, and then that makes the other panic even more." Thalia said with a laugh.

"...shut up." Jason sulked.

"Okay, well what about me and Frank here." I said, putting my arm around him. "Things are like super normal when we chill together."

"One word.." Hazel started, "Mythomagic."

"Shit." I cursed.

"There has got to be one pairing of us that's normal!" Leo shouted.

"Well...We know nothing that involves Percy, Leo or Piper." Annabeth said.

"Hey!" They said indignantly.

"I get Percy and Leo, but I can be normal!" Piper said indignantly. "Like... When it's me and Hazel."

"Uhm, didn't I find you guys stuck under an unconscious Percy once?" Thalia asked.

"Well... That's not fair! That involved Percy!" Piper said defensively.

"Wait, what? When were you guys stuck under me?" Percy asked confusedly.

"Oh wait, was that when You three dragged an unconscious Percy into his appartment?" Hank exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, good times." Thalia said happily.

"Uh, when was this?" Annabeth shouted.

"Yeah! I don't remember this!" He shouted.

"When you had detention that one time." I explained.

"Oh."

"I cannot believe there isn't one normal pair of us..." Grover muttered.

"What about me and Hank?" Annabeth proposed.

"Didn'T you guys accidentally make a stink bomb once during chemistry?" Piper recalled.

"..."

"Me and Jason?" I proposed.

"Yeah, except for the fact you guys somehow caused that power outage." Thalia muttered.

"How did you guys do that anyway?" Frank asked us.

"Uhm..." I started, because... well... we were drunk at the time.

"We don't remember." Jason muttered.

"Me and Grover!" Hazel shouted. "We're totally normal when we chill!"

Percy squinted at them. "Didn't you guys spray paint 'Meat is Murder' on the billboard about fur once?"

"Oh... yeah..." Hazel muttered.

"I'm kinda proud about that though." Grover mumbled.

"Yeah, we did a great job!" Hazel high-fived him.

By the end of our discussion we were all laying on the floor looking at the ceiling.

"Oh my gods, guys... We're not normal..." Piper said.

"Not even one of us..." Percy muttered.

"And we wasted all this time on... this.." Hazel muttered horrified.

"Oh my gods! You'Re right!" Jason panicked. "We haven't studied at all!"

"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods..." Hazel mumbled.

"Yes! I get to slap Jason!" Leo exclaimed, standing up.

"No! I'm calm, I'm calm!" he shouted, getting up and running away.

We all laughed at that.

"Okay, enough moping around!" Percy told us. "Time to get started on that study planning."

Everyone groaned.

"Come on guys! It'll be fine! I swear before you know it it'll be all over and we'll be getting ready for prom."

Piper sighed." Fine. Let's get this over with, 2 months of torture."

And then we heard a loud slap. Leo came back smiling smugly, and Jason had a red handprint on his face.

I love these people.

We all burst out laughing.

"Great!" Percy exclaimed excitedly. "Let me get a couple of books out of my room, we can get started today already. Oh, someone should probably order pizza."

We all groaned again.

This was gonna be a long 2 months.

 **Percy Jackson**

 **PROS CONS**

-Oblivious - Annoying

-Hot - Might not wear pants without reminder

-Good kisser - Too modest

\- Funny - Impulsive

\- Caring - Overdramatic

\- Loyal af - Dangerous (especially with Piper)(even worse with Piper and Leo)

\- Impulsive

\- Patient

\- Will do anything to make you smile

\- Compassionate

* * *

 **Hey, what up? Not the best chapter, I admit, but, BUT, trust me, you'll want to read the next one. Seriously, I was really looking forward to getting to the next chapter. It's got all of the juicy stuff I wanted to add to the story. Gods, I am SO excited for it!.. Altho... Maybe I'm hyping it up too much... Okay, let's just say the next chapter will be fun for me to write, but don't have _too_ high expectations... Yeah, that seems reasonable. I added the pros and cons list at the end, but uhh, I couldn't get the doc editor to cooporate so now the layout is all weird smh.**

 **I guess my goal with this chapter was to show you guys that they really are friends with each other. I feel like, sometimes, like some of the relationships get neglected in the books or even other fanfics. Not shading anyone or anything, that's just how it is. For example Grover. his friendships with the other characters isn't really explored that much, even though I could totally see him and Piper protesting against animal testing. I guess, I just wanted to show you guys that every one of them probably has stories with each other, individually and that they aren't all hanging out because they're friends of each other's friends. Idk if that made any sense, but I hope it did.**

 **As for senior year of Hooked, as long as there are no objections, I'll have it continue in this story. I have something else planned _if_ I were to write a sequel anyway ;) As for when I'll update, to be honest, next week will be pretty hectic (the beginning of it anyway) so I'll probably update... Next week Wednesday. I mean, it's possible that I update unexpectedly before, by now I wouldn't be surprised if I did haha. Anyhow, tell me what you thought of this chapter, or the story in general. What did you like? Dislike? What could be better? Let me know :)**

 **Onto the reviews:**

 **To Riptide013: YASSS, no way will this be dead dude! I promised, _promised_ a bunch of people on the internet, and I intend to deliver ;) Awww, thank you! I still can't believe there are people out there that see _my_ story as their favorite! It boggles my mind tbh.. And I will never, ever get sick of that pun XD. Also, dw, Nico will play an important roll in this story... All I'm saying is... it'll get interesting ;)**

 **To NONAME2002: Shhhh, don't spoil it for everyone else dude!... What do you think is gonna happen though? I would LOVE to hear it, but I'm also low-key scared, cause what if you're right? You know what, never mind... I don'T wanna hear it XD As for Annabeth, sorry dude, she ain't dying any time soon :/**

 **To Daedric Prince of The Vault: Dude, thank you SO much! Here's another fix for ya haha**

 **To MasterTrident: ...Idk what to make of that...**

 **To Anna: HERE YOU GO! :D**

 **To RoyalFox89: Aww, glad to hear it dude! :) And, dw about it, it was helpful, at least I know people don't mind either. Glad to hear you enjoyed that chapter! I loved writing it XD As for procrastination, yeah I've got it bad and it is biting me in the ass atm haha. That's impressive tho not gonna lie, writing essay's an hour before they're due. Seriously. That's talent. Thanks for the inspiring quotes tho :)**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: MY DUDE! how's it going? How ya been? And dw, I've had to reread this story like 2 times before I wrote a new chapter, and I'm the goddamn author xD...**

 **All right, what was all of them. That's it for the day! Once more, a big thank you to everyone that read and reviewed this story! I appreciate it big time :) I wish you all a happy life I guess, and uhhh always believe in yourself. Yeah, that seems like a good note to end it on XD**

 **Ciao for now!**

 **Joy.**


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the characters... Rick Riordan does...lucky bastard.**

* * *

-Time skip: 1 month later-

 **Percy's POV**

Well, we've been doing a good job I think all things considered. 1 month of nothing but studying and the occasional friend night, no parties, alcohol or anything! A good job indeed.

I've thrown myself into my studies, I haven't thought about Rachel all that much thanks to it. She hasn't contacted me at all either. I guess that's for the best... It kind of stung though, not gonna lie. I would've appreciated a letter, a postcard, a text, anything. Hell, I would've been happy with an e-mail! But, so far, just radio silence. Which is fine. Totally fine.

Whatever. I'm over it.

A doorbell interrupted my thoughts, thank gods. It was probably the guys, we were having our first guys only night since forever. It's good to take a break from studying every once in a while, you know? Otherwise, you'll actually end up being counter productive.

I opened the door and greeted the guys.

"So, what's the plan for today?" I asked them.

"You guys want to go out?" Nico asked.

We all shared a look. "Nah, to be honest, I don't feel like having a hangover." Jason answered.

"Yeah, it has been nice not having hangover." Leo agreed. "Even if we spent most of our times studying.."

"Night in?" Frank proposed.

"Night in." I affirmed.

"Oh, thank gods." Nico exclaimed. "I only brought pajama's."

"Sweet! Me too!" Frank told him.

Nico grinned at him. "High five!"

"All right, so everyone change into their pj's and we have a movie marathon?" I proposed.

They all nodded their heads.

Sweet.

-Line Break-

We were currently watching The Avengers, but no one was really paying attention, guess we have seen it a lot of times..

"Hey Nico," Jason started.

Nico looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did Grace."

He rolled his eyes. "I mean another."

"Shoot."

"Okay, uhh well... What's up between you and my sister?"

Nico stiffened at that, but then laughed uneasily. "What? Nothing! What would give you _that_ idea?!"

"I think we've all noticed something's up."

Nico looked at all of us. "Is that true?"

We all nodded. "Yeah, I have been meaning to ask you about that actually!" I told him.

"Oh my gods, dude, me too!" Leo said.

"Yeah, I knew there was something I forgot." Grover confirmed.

"Same. It was killing me." Frank added.

"So, Nico, what happened between you and my sister?"

Nico sighed. "It's... complicated."

I sent him a pointed look. "More complicated than me and Annabeth?"

"Good point. Not as complicated."

"You know you can tell us anything right?" Frank implored..

Nico sighed again, and nodded. "Damn it Frank, you _know_ I can't say no to you when you're being all innocent and nice! Fine, I'll tell you guys, I guess it doesn't matter now anyway."

 **Nico's POV**

I took a deep breath, and told them. "Thalia and I... were dating. In secret." I admitted.

Their jaws dropped.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Uhh, guys? You okay?"

They just stayed quiet.

I waved my hand in front of their faces. That seemed to break them out of their stupor.

"What?!" Jason shouted.

"Wow. Okay I was way off." Grover muttered.

"I know. That wasn't even on my list of possibilities!" Frank mumbled.

"Daaaaaamn!" was Leo's reaction.

And Percy? Well, Percy just looked really surprised and, kind of disappointed?

"Uh, Percy you okay cuz?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me? Us?!"

"Yeah!" Jason shouted indignantly.

I gulped. "I mean, technically, technically I did."

"What? When?" Frank questioned.

"Uh, a couple of months back, I think it was when you guys asked me why Thalia and I were fighting so much."

"But.. You said it so sarcastically!" Leo recalled.

"True, but I did say it."

"Oh yeah, because that makes it better." Percy said sarcastically.

"Okay, fine point taken." I admitted. "Jason? Buddy? You also mad at me?"

He brushed his hands through his hair and sighed. "Of all the girls, why'd it have to be my sister?!"

"Why not? You seemed to be fine with the idea of Percy and Thalia in the beginning of the year!"

"Yeah, that's because I knew he didn't have any chance with her!"

"Hey!" Percy protested. "That's not true! What the hell?!"

"Shit, I didn't... Percy, dude, I mean.." Jason stuttered out. "You weren't her type is what I meant."

He glared at him. "Oh really? And you would know what her type is?"

"Yes! I'm her brother!"

"Dude, she admitted she loved me!"

"She what?!" Jason and I shouted.

Percy's eyes widened. "Oh shit... Not like that! I mean, she and I are just friends, nothing happened!"

"Dude, do you still love her?" I asked him seriously.

He shook his head at that. "No way! You know I don't Nico!"

I glared at him. "Maybe I don't Percy, maybe I don't."

He glared back at me. "Hey, just because **you** hide stuff from us, doesn't mean we all do."

"That is low! I couldn't tell you guys!"

"Oh really? So you mean to tell me your mouth didn't work the entire time you and Thalia were dating?"

"Uh, guys maybe we should all just calm down." Grover interjected.

"It wasn't like that!" I shouted.

Percy just laughed. "Right, so you practically ordered me to reveal my love for Annabeth to everyone, but when **you** have a secret you don't feel comfortable telling, then that's fine. Great. I see how it is now."

"No! Percy, I just.. I just.."

"You just, what Nico?"

"I'm in love with her, okay?" I shouted.

Percy looked surprised at that. Everyone did.

"You love her?" Jason asked incredulously. "I just figured you guys were screwing around, I didn't know it was _love_!"

Percy shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just.. You liked her and, I dunno, I thought it would be weird!"

"Dude, yeah I _liked_ her, it's not like she and I ever dated! I moved on ages ago!"

"I'm really sorry guys."

"So, you guys are really going out?" Leo asked.

I ran my hand through my hair. "Uh, no. We uhh, we kind of... broke up."

"What?!" They all shouted.

"Dude, when?" Jason asked me. "Why?!"

I scratched my. "It was at the last party we went to if I'm not mistaken.. And we broke up because... Because I couldn't trust her..."

"Shit, dude! She's been trying really hard to change though!"

"I know!" I shouted. "Fuck, I know okay? That's why it's so frustrating! I want to trust her, fucking hell, I want to trust her with my life but I **can't**! And I don't know what to do anymore!"

"You okay?" Grover asked me.

"Yeah... no. No, I guess I'm not okay right now." I admitted.

Percy sat beside me. "I'm really sorry Nico. That.. sucks."

I smiled reluctantly. "Yeah, you would know huh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, guess we're suffering together at the moment."

"The studying does help though."

"Right?! It really does stop the mind from wandering!"

"So that's why you've been such a pain in the ass about studying!" Leo shouted.

Percy grinned at him. "Hey, I just want all of us to pass!"

"Bullshit! You're worse than Annabeth!" Jason shouted. " _Annabeth._ "

"Speaking of which, have you guys noticed how weird she's been acting lately?" Frank suddenly pointed out.

"I have noticed that actually." Leo affirmed.

"Especially around Percy." Grover added.

We all turned towards him.

I shot him a pointed look. "Anything you want to tell us Perce."

He just brought his hands up and shook his head. "Hey, nothing happened between me and her! I'm just as in the dark as you guys are! Seriously, I don't know why she's acting weird around me either! I didn't do anything! I think?"

"And Piper didn't tell you anything?" Grover asked him.

Jason looked confused. "Why would Piper tell Percy anything?"

Everyone else looked at him weirdly. "Because they've been spending more time together, duh." Leo explained.

"What?! Why?" He looked at Percy when he said that.

Percy shrugged. "I don't know! It just.. Happened. She's fighting with her sisters at the moment, so.. Sometimes she stays over. No big deal dude. We're buddies."

"Yeah, stop acting so weird dude." Leo told him. "I'm there too sometimes you know."

"Why don't you guys invite me?" He complained.

"Because the last time we did, you reminded us how you didn't like cartoons!" Leo retorted.

"Yeah! And that's like _all_ we watch when we hang out!" Percy added.

Jason huffed. "Fine.. I see your point."

"Hey, chin up. We have fun when we hang out." Frank told him.

"You guys hang out?" I asked them.

"Yeah, I hang out with him and Hazel sometimes." Jason explained. "We watch documentaries together. Sometimes history, sometimes about nature and then there was that one time about plastic surgery."

Frank and Jason shuddered.

"Never again." Frank swore.

I looked at Grover. "Maybe we should hang out."

He smiled at me. "Sure, you can come with me and Juniper to the march for the climate next week."

"Uhh..."

"I swear it's funner than it sounds." Grover told me.

"All right, fine. How are things going between you and Juniper anyways?"

Grover perked up at that. "Oh my gods guys, I'm so in love with this girl! It's like, when I see her, everything just automatically becomes better. She's sunshine, flowers and all things good in this messed up world!"

We all smiled at that.

"Way to go G-man!" Percy clapped him on the back.

"My man!" Leo whooped.

"I'm really happy for you Grover." I told him earnestly. And I really did mean it. Even if right now, my heart was broken, I was really happy to see Grover happy.

"How did you ask her to prom?" Frank wondered.

Grover's eyes widened. All of ours did. Prom.

"Oh, damn. I completely forgot to ask her!" Grover gasped out.

"Shit, right, I also forgot." Jason panicked. "Oh my gods, I have to find a date? How the hell am I gonna find a date?! Which girl would want to go with me?!"

"Dude, every girl wants to go with you." Leo deadpanned. "You're like the school's golden boy."

Jason calmed down after that and looked sheepish. "Right. I forgot. I was going to go stag."

"Really?" I asked him.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, I mean there'll be another prom next year, so I figured I might as well try going stag this year."

I nodded my head at that. "Yeah, that does make sense. I think I'll do that too. Not like I can go with who I originally planned to go with anyways."

"Who'd you.." Leo started, but Percy elbowed him. "Never mind. Hey, at least you weren't used as a bargaining chip!" He shot Percy a look when he said that.

"Hey, come on dude! You owed me!"

"Right, but what if Khione shows up though? I asked her, remember?"

I rolled my eyes at that. "Yeah, Leo, from what we heard from that phone call, she won't be showing up."

"She will!" Leo insisted. "It's this thing we do, where she acts like she hates my guts, but really loves me. Seriously."

"Suuure it is Valdez."

"Whateveer Di Angelo. That's right, I know your last name too!" He retorted. "I think I know how the female mind works."

"Riiight."

He huffed. "No respect."

"What about you Frank? You already asked Hazel?" Percy asked Frank.

He nodded is head. "Yeah, I already asked her."

"How'd you do it?"

"Uh, I mean, I just asked her. I mean, I know people do promposals and stuff, and I was actually planning on doing one, but I accidentally blurted it out.."

"What do you mean accidentally? How?" Grover asked him.

"We were on a date right? And we ended up in a playground, on the swings, I was pushing her and she was laughing and.. She just looked so happy and beautiful, I blurted out 'Prom with me?'..."

We all roared with laughter.

"Dude, you're not serious right now, 'Prom with me?'? Really?" Jason asked him incredulously.

Frank blushed, but nodded his head. "I just.. She looked _so_ beautiful okay? I forgot how to speak, and yeah. I felt like I was 14 all over again, I was a stuttering mess around Hazel again."

Percy put his arm around him. "Well I thought it was sweet. Really, I did. What did she say?"

Frank blushed. "Uhh, well, she laughed, but then she kissed me and said yes."

"Way to go dude!" Leo said enthusiastically. Overly so. Weird.

"Thanks. What about you Percy? You going with anyone?"

Percy frowned. "I'm not sure actually. Me and Piper made this deal."

Jason frowned. "What kind of deal?"

"If we don't find any dates this month, we'll just go with each other." He said with a shrug.

"Oh. So, you looking for a date?"

Percy looked at him weirdly. "Uh, listen Jason, I'm flattered and all but I think we should just stay friends, no offense."

We all laughed at Jason's blushing face.

"No! I mean with someone else! A girl, or a guy if that's what you're cruising for!"

"Ohh, yeah that makes sense. Nah, I'm kind of busy studying at the moment."

"Oh. Okay. That's... fine."

"Hey Grover how are you planning on asking Juniper?"

"I don't know!" Grover yelled with a frown. And then he blushed.

We were all contemplating possible ways for him to ask her out.

"Does she like grand gestures?" Frank asked him.

Grover frowned. "I don't think so, no."

Percy nodded his head. "All right! I've got it! You guys love coffee right?"

Grover nodded. "Yeah, we're always going on coffee dates. She's as obsessed as I am with coffee! Can you believe it?!"

Leo's eyes widened. "Oh my gods, I think I see where you're going with this Percy, and I LOVE it!"

And then they high-fived.

"Uh, can you guys elaborate?" Jason asked.

"Well, it's really simple." Percy started, "After the climate march, you guys go to your favorite coffee shop, and you buy her her favorite coffee..."

"..and write 'I like you a latte! Go to prom with me?" Leo finished excitedly.

"Okay, how the hell did you know he was gonna say that?" Jason asked surprised.

Percy and Leo shared a look and then said at the same time, "Magic."

"That's genius!" Grover shouted. "That's absolutely perfect!"

Percy and Leo looked smug after he said that.

"We try dude, we try." Percy said smugly.

"Looks like we're all ready for prom."

"Uh, we have exams before that though." Jason reminded us.

Leo waved his hand at that. "We'll ace it! I mean, look at us! We're working our podexes off!"

"Yeah! No way in Hades am I gonna let you guys fail!" Percy added. And then they high fived again.

And to be honest, I believed him.

 **Thalia's POV**

"Man it's been like forever since we last had a _girl's_ night." Piper exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean! I love the guys and all but some things you can't discuss in front of them." Hazel commented.

"Right, like what's up with _you guys_." Piper said, looking at me and Annabeth.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"There's nothing wrong with us!"

Piper and Hazel rolled their eyes.

"Riight, and I'm actually an 82 year old woman." Hazel deadpanned.

"Oh my gods, really?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"No. Not really. Now spill the beans Thalia."

"Why do I have to start?" I whined.

"Because you talked back to me."

Damn. I can't fight with that logic.

"Ugh, fine. Nico and I broke up."

They all blinked.

"Wait, what? You were dating my brother?!"

"How did I miss this?"

"I knew you guys were lying about that kiss at the beach!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you guys, we were kind of keeping it secret."

"Why?" Piper asked, obviously confused.

I shrugged. "At first, cause we didn't want to deal with you guys and cause it was fun keeping it a secret."

"At first?" Annabeth repeated. "What changed?"

I sighed, and felt the tears, ah shit. I thought I was past the tears stage by now. "He uhh.. he doesn't trust me.."

"What?!" Piper shouted. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Oh Thalia, I'm so sorry!" Hazel told me earnestly.

Annabeth just gave me a side hug. And then Hazel and Piper joined in on the hug. I was surrounded by all of them, and for the first time ever I didn't push them away. It was kind of nice.

"I'm really sorry Thals, I know how hard you've been trying to change.." Annabeth muttered.

I shook my head. "It's fine Annabeth, I think it's for the best, I really do. It was kind of toxic. Our relationship was toxic. We loved each other, but it was a constant back and forth from bliss to hell, and hell to bliss. We couldn't be the people we wanted to be, we were just too tied up to each other. It didn't help we had to hide from everyone... It was just.. getting harder and harder to breath. We were suffocating. Our love was real, but maybe it was just not the right time. We need to love ourselves first. Maybe, one day, we will try again, and never let each other go."

"Wow, that's.. beautiful." Piper said in awe. "That's really strong of you Thalia."

I smiled at her. "Thanks Piper, we agreed on being friends. We're not there yet, but we will be, I know we will. Baby steps."

"That's really mature of you guys." Hazel complimented.

"Yeah, didn't know you had it in you Thals." Annabeth teased.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Your turn Annie. What's your deal?"

 **Annabeth's POV**

"What? I already told you guys!" I lied.

"Nuh-uh." Thalia said. "Nice try sister, but if I had to go, so do you."

I groaned. "Fine.. Things between Derek and me aren't... great at the moment."

Piper frowned. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged. "It's like... Awkward and stuff! Gods, I can't even explain it right. Something feels off!"

"You think he's cheating on you?" Hazel asked.

I shook my head. "No, well.. I don't think so. He just, tenses up whenever I mention hanging out with you guys."

Thalia looked confused. "Weird.. I thought we made up with him!"

"Yeah, I thought things were cool between us and him." Hazel affirmed.

Piper frowned at me. "Whenever you mention us? Or _Percy_?"

I tensed up at that. How'd she...

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. She got her answer right there.

"I told you Annabeth, that this would happen!"

"Okay, fine! Yes, Derek seems to suddenly have a problem with me and Percy hanging out, so things are a little bit strained between us at the moment."

"Oh wow. Well, did you tell him there was nothing going on?" Thalia asked. "There is nothing going on, right?"

I rolled my eyes. Gods, I wish there was. Wait, scratch that thought. I really shouldn't be thinking like this.

"No! Of course not! We're just friends."

"Then why is there a problem?"

"Because.. Derek doesn't want me to be friends with Percy anymore."

They all gasped at that.

"Did he really say that?" Hazel asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah.. He said and I quote ''It's him or me'."

"What are you gonna do?" Thalia asked me seriously.

"What can I do? I can't stop being friends with _Percy_!"

"That's true!" Hazel affirmed.

"But I don't want to lose Derek!"

"That is also true!"

"This is crazy.. You're not actually considering this, right? Because that is just crazy!" Thalia stated. She turned to Piper and said "Tell her she's being crazy."

Piper looked uncomfortable. "Actually... I kind of get it."

"What?!"

"Look, I know how great of a friend Percy is-"

"- a little too well if you ask me" I muttered. She ignored me and just continued.

"-but, if Annabeth really is serious about Derek, then she has to make compromises. I'm not saying she has to break all ties with Percy, hades no, but if her friendship with him makes Derek uncomfortable, then maybe she should, I don't know spend a little less time with him."

I nodded. She did have a point.

"That being said," Piper started, "as her boyfriend, Derek really should trust Annabeth more when she says Percy and her are just friends."

"That is true." Hazel confirmed.

"Guys, this is crazy. Annabeth and Percy are staying friends, and that's that. If Derek has a problem with that, then he has to deal with it. Right Annabeth?" Thalia turned to me.

"I..I don't know.. I just don't know. I'm so confused..."

"What's there to be confused about? You and Percy stay friends. End of story."

I took a deep breath. "I'm in love with him."

"Derek? Yeah, we know."

"No! I'm in love with Percy!"

They... did not look shocked at that.

"Ugh finally! I can't believe I doubted myself!" Piper exclaimed.

"Damn Annabeth, how did it take you _this_ long to figure that out?!" Thalia shouted.

"It was pretty obvious.." Hazel admitted.

"Wait, you guys knew?!"

"Yes!" They all shouted.

"Oh my gods, why didn't you guys say anything?!"

"Are you kidding me? It was **so** obvious!" Piper pointed out.

"Yeah, everyone knew." Hazel noted.

"Really? Even Percy."

"Okay, fine everyone except for Percy. He's pretty oblivious to other girls feelings." Piper admitted.

"I see how this can complicate things though." Thalia admitted.

I sighed. "So what should I do?"

They all shared a look. "Well, that depends." Piper started.

"Do you want to be with Percy?" Thalia added.

"Because if you don't... Then you know what to do." Hazel finished.

I frowned. "I... I don't know! What if we date and it doesn't work out? What if it does? We're only 16! Statistically speaking, there's a slim to none chance this will work out!"

"Annabeth, you can't logic love." Thalia told me.

"What? What else can I do? Logic is where I excel at! I can't be friends with him anymore!"

"Uh, yes you can."

"You love Nico, and and you guys aren't friends!"

"True, but... I do believe we will be friends one day. It's inevitable, we're meant to be in each other's lives."

I frowned. "How could you possibly know that?"

Thalia shrugged. "When I met him, it was clear that we, on some level, belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. We just have to figure out what, and I know we will."

I shook my head. "But... There's no guarantee!"

"Look, Annabeth it's impossible to know anything for sure when it comes to love. Sometimes, you just have to take a leap and hope for the best." Piper told me.

"And when you do, you might just find yourself in an amazing relationship." Hazel added, with a small smile.

"Or, it might just ruin everything. Guys, I've made up my mind." I told them.

"Hey, wait no, Annabeth, think this through." Thalia warned.

"Yeah, don't do anything you might regret." Hazel advised.

I shook my head. "I have thought this through Thalia! I haven't stopped thinking of all the possible ways this could turn out for the past month. It's time for action."

"Annabeth, this is stupid. What are you gonna tell him, huh? That you guys can't be friends anymore? Cause there's your guarantee right there. A guarantee you guys **won't** be friends anymore. You were _literally_ worrying about not being friends with him a second ago!"

"I **can't** be friends with him anymore! That's what I've learnt this month! I'm in love with him! It doesn't make any sense. It's too hard, it's too fucking hard okay? Things with Derek are easier. Things with Derek make sense."

"Annabeth, don't." Thalia growled out. "You're being selfish! What about Percy? You think he'll be happy with this?"

I clenched my jaw. "You're right... But, I can't. I can't anymore. I was such a bitch to Rachel, and that was when I was still in denial about my feelings! Now that I know how I feel...What kind of monster will I become when Percy starts dating another girl, huh? I don't like who I am in those moments."

"Then tell him! Work it out!"

I shook my head. "Derek is a nice guy. I owe it to him to give it my 100%!"

"But you don't love him like Percy!" Piper shouted.

"Maybe, but I know what I'm getting with Derek. It's safe."

"You can't always play it safe!" Hazel yelled.

"Annabeth, this is a mistake." Thalia told me.

"I don't know what to do anymore, okay? It's too intense! It's too much. Percy and I aren't together, but my feelings are so strong, it actually feels like it burns. I'm _terrified_ , okay? There, I said it. I'm terrified of being in love like this. I don't like it and I can't control how I feel."

"What if.. What if Percy loved you back?" Piper asked uneasily.

"He doesn't. He's still hung up on Rachel, why else would he be studying _this_ hard?"

"But-"

"Look, you guys can't convince me otherwise. I've made up my mind."

I grabbed my phone and called **him**.

 **Percy's POV**

"Uh, guys.. Annabeth's calling me." I shouted, a feeling of deja-vu wafting over me. Oh yeah, last time I shouted this was when I thought it was a booty call. It definitely was not.

"What? Why? Wasn't she ignoring you a little?" Leo asked confusedly. "Wow, did anyone else just get a feeling of deja-vu?"

"Yeah, and like I said last time, " Nico said, "How about you answer the phone."

"Put it on speaker phone!" Leo instructed, like last time.

"What is happening right now?" Jason wondered.

Frank shushed him. "Sorry, I just really want to know what's going to happen."

I pressed on answer.

"Uh, hey Annabeth... What's up?"

"Can we meet up? We have to talk."

"Oooh, someone's in trouble." Leo commented.

"Shut up." I hissed at him.

"Right now?" I asked Annabeth.

"Yeah, if it's possible. I have to tell you something, and I think it's face-to-face news."

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around. The guys looked as confused as I did.

"Uh, okay. Sure. Where do you want to meet?"

"How about.. the park? The entrance by that coffee shop Grover likes to go to"

I looked outside. The sun was setting, but it wasn't dark yet.

"Uhm, okay, see you there."

"Bye Percy."

"Dude, what do you think she's gonna say?" Jason wondered.

I shrugged. "I don't know! I don't know what she could say!"

"You think, maybe she broke up with Derek?" Nico proposed.

"Ooh, yeah, maybe!" Leo commented. "Maybe she realized what a great guy you are, and she's gonna profess her love! Dude, go to her!"

"Wait, hold on. I don't think that's what it is." I protested.

"What else could it be though?" Frank wondered.

I shrugged. "I don't know! Maybe.. she's dying or something."

"Why would she tell you first? At the park?"

"I don't know! Okay? I just know, it isn't a love confession. It can't be."

"Are you okay Percy?" Grover asked me, concern oozing out of him.

I smiled tightly. "Yeah, I just... I don't want to get sucked into that again, okay? It took everything I had to let go of Annabeth, I can't get my hopes up again. I just can't."

Grover opened his mouth, no doubt about to say something deep and philosophical, but Leo interrupted him.

"Sorry dude, but don't you need to leave now?"

"Oh shit, right. I'll see you guys soon."

"Tell us everything that happened!" Leo shouted behind me.

-Line Break-

There she was. Sitting on a bench.

Dammit, my heart still fluttered a little at the sight of her. I sighed.

I smiled at her. "Hey Wise Girl, kind of sketchy of you. Asking me to meet you in a park in the middle of the night."

She smiled back. "Seaweed Brain, it's barely even dark."

I tsk'ed and sat down beside her. "Doesn't make it any less sketchy. What would your boyfriend say about this?"

And then her face fell. Oh shit, maybe they really did break up. I tried to squash the hopeful feeling I got at that thought.

"Right... We need to talk."

Oh no. That never meant anything good. No one ever said, 'We need to talk, I'm in love with you'.

Maybe I was just overthinking this. Maybe, it would be fine?

I cleared my throat. "Uh, okay. Sure, what do you want to talk about? Sports? Sports are good."

She took a deep breath. Oh, oh no. "Percy... I... I don't know how to say this..."

I frowned, I hated seeing her like this. Conflicted. Confused. Sad. "You can tell me anything Wise Girl, you know that right? I know things have been a little weird between us, and I'm sorry if it's anything I did.."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, gods Percy no! I mean, yes things are a little weird, but that's **not** your fault okay? It's my fault! My fault. I just have some stuff going on and, yeah."

I shook my head. "I should've been more attentive to your feelings. I'm sorry I've been throwing myself into my studies."

"No, Percy I understand why. I don't know how to say this..."

"Is it about Derek?"

"Uh, sort of?"

"Oh shit, did you guys break up?!"

"Um, no."

I did my best to not feel disappointed. Damnit Percy, **stop.** Don't go down this road again.

"Okay, so what's up? Is it about.. us?"

She bit her lip. "Yes."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Ookay... Can you tell me what?"

"I... You... We can't be friends anymore."

And I swear, in that moment, I actually **heard** my heart break.

"What?!" I choked out.

She had tears in her eyes, as if this was killing her as much as it was killing me. She looked so broken right now, all I wanted to do was hug her back whole.

I shook my head. This couldn't be happening. This was just a nightmare. In a couple of seconds, I'm going to wake up and forget about _this_. I'll laugh about how ridiculous the thought of this happening was.

"...why? What did I do wrong?" I croaked.

She shook her head. "Percy, no. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why?!"

"I... I can't tell you."

I buried my head in my hands. "Why?"

"I'm sorry." her voice sounded hollow. Even to me. "It's just.. Too hard."

"Then tell me how I can make it easier. Please Annabeth! I don't want to lose you!"

She shook her head. "I just need some space right now."

And then she stood up. No, no no.

"Annabeth, please! I can't... I can't lose you! Tell me what to do!" I pleaded.

She looked up towards the sky in an effort to stop the tears from streaming down her face. "I.. " a quivering sigh escaped her throat. "Please, Percy. Don't make this any harder."

I stood up. "Just tell me **why**! Please?"

"Derek doesn't want us to be friends anymore."

"And.. you _agree_ with him?"

"I... No.. Yes.. I don't..."

I grabbed her hands in mine. "Annabeth... I can't lose you. I just can't."

"You'll make other friends Percy, you're amazing."

"But I want you! It's you Annabeth! It's fucking you! I can't describe it anymore, it's **you**!You're the one I want. I belong with you. Seaweed brain and Wise Girl! I look at you and somehow I can see 50 years from now, on a front porch of some old house in the middle of nowhere, and we're together. I need you. You're the only thing that matters right now."

I put my forehead against hers. "I'm in love with you." I whispered. Oh shit, that was not what I meant to say. Fuck it, I had nothing left to lose.

She was crying now. "Percy...Don't lie."

"It's true Annabeth. Goddamn it it's true. I've been holding it in for so long, but I can't anymore. Not when I'm about to lose you. I'm laying it all out in the open. I want to be with you Annabeth. It's as simple and complicated as that."

"Fuck Percy, why now? Where was all this three months ago?"

"I don't know! I was a stupid kid back then.. Okay, Annabeth, just.. If you answer this one question I'll leave."

"One question?"

"Yeah, one question, and I'll let you go. I promise."

"Okay, what?"

"Do you love me?"

"..."

"Annabeth? Do you love me?"

She bit her lip.

* * *

 **Dayuuumn, so sorry I made you guys wait this long, I lowkey forgot about this chapter, so I had to write and proofread it today.. But hey, here's this cliff you guys can hang on ;) For real though, I am sorry about that cliffhanger (but not really cause I'm evil that way). I also miscalculated. I was actually really looking forward to writing the chapter that's coming up. Don't get me wrong, I liked writing this one too, but the next one. Fucking hell dudes. I could've taken the easy route and just Time skipped 2 months later, but this had to be done. So, yeah, that's what's up.**

 **The next chapter, I have no idea when that's gonna come out... I want to say next week Wednesday, cause that's when I have my last exam, but I can't guarantee that. I can, however, guarantee you guys that there _will_ be a new chapter next week. I can't specify a day quite yet, but I can promise you that a new chapter will be coming out.**

 **I think the next chapter will be the last one, concerning their junior year that is. The chapters after that will either take place in their vacation, or even senior year. I have no idea actually. I only ever planned up to the next chapter, so uhhh, I guess we'll all be pleasantly surprised with what happens next. Again, let me know wether you want me to continue in this story, or just in a sequel. Also, let me know what you thought of this chapter! I always love the feedback!**

 **Now onto the reviews:**

 **To NONAME2002: You meanie! I told you _not_ to tell me! Fucking hell, it's kind of scary how you got some things right, for what I'm planning anyways :O Although, I guess I wasn't _that_ subtle either. As for Annabeth, sorry dude but I've still got plans for this story, and yes they involve her :( And hey! It's not like I made Rachel a bitch in this story! I mean, have you _read_ some fanfics out there? They do NOT do her any justice! They make her the bad guy, _just_ because she kissed Percy in the books. Rude, and unfair! She was awesome! Like, wtf? She wasn't a bad person for kissing a guy she liked!**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Ha yeah, I just based Jason and Hazel off of a couple of friends of mine who used to freak out just like them, whenever exams were coming up XD And that's great to hear! I'm in college now, studying for my bachelor in civil engineering. Ugh, the math is killing me.**

 **To MasterTrident: Lol mine too dude, mine you for your criticism, it has been noted. I kind of felt like, maybe it was too much, but you've confirmed it. I'm gonna do my best to tone down the flashbacks ;)**

 **To Daedric Prince of The Vault: Thaaaank youuu :D**

 **To BlacktThorn47: ...maybe don't read this chapter? Cause if the last one was killing you, this one will definitely kill you. Sorry :( (not sorry)**

 **To RoyalFox89: Hey, great to see you again XD Thanks! I liked that chapter too! You still get it done! That's something! Some people in my old school didn't even bother trying. So they automatically failed.**

 **To Pencilvester: Heyo! Not much, what up with you? Thank you so much! Can I just say how much I love your story, _Perceism_? I love Lookism, so of course I also wondered what it would be like if it happened to Percy! I'm so glad someone actually _wrote a fanfic_ about it! Ps. I can't believe you actually know where my username came from! I also loved that book! It was frustratingly worth it, but not really cause the ending ugh, THE ENDING! Huh, maybe that ending inspired me to incorporate a lot of cliffhangers in my writing! Shiiit dude, I'm learning so much about the working of my mind :O**

 **To Pregnantnun227: Hehe... Heeeey Pregnantnun227, how ya been? How's it going? I'm well! And I did promise I would finish this chapter good sir, and I intend to keep that promise. After al, if a person can't even keep their word, then what kind of a person would that make me? After all, sometimes your word is all you have left. As for the smoking, nah don't worry you pretty little head! Not my cup of tea, always been more of a coffee kind of girl anyway. That and, do you know how _expensive_ smoking is? I'm not made out of money!**

 **Glad I could surprise you with Rachel, honestly I was just as surprised when I was writing it. I didn't plan on that happening, but I'm quite glad with the outcome. As per your request, I have given them a break from the drinking, trust me, they were long overdue anyways. Hangovers are no joke. Especially when they've got exams coming up. And what could I do? What would have happened if Rachel stayed? She's got her whole life ahead of her, she can't just leave it all behind for a guy, even if it's Percy. That was just unrealistic. And yes, I know a lot of this story is unrealistic, but still! It just wouldn't have made sense. The timeline is fuzzy to be honest, I do regret that. If it weren't for my notebook with all of the details about this story, I probably wouldn't know what day it was either. And for that I apologise. I'll do my best to make things less confusing in the future. Frankly, I'd like to change a lot of things in this story, (like continuity of characters) and I will, once it's finished. I quite think I did all right with the kissing part, all things considered. Seriously? Oh my gods, I've been using that word wrong all my life. As for Annabeth's reaction, yeah I only now realised how lacklustre it was.. Damn. Where were you when I was writing that chapter? *starts weeping* Don't worry about it dude. I quite like that you raved at me in this manner. Shows how much you care about this story, and really, what more can a writer as of her fans? ;) And yeah, it has been a hectic year, but I survived it, and I'm hoping this year will go a lot better. I might actually finish this story this year! Who knows, the year is still young after all!**

 **Phew, that's all of em for today. Thank you to everyone that reviewed, will review or is reviewing, I really appreciate it! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, if you didn't well... Sorry? I can't change it. I mean, I can, but then the next one wouldn't make any sense... Wow, it's late, I think it's time for bed now. So, take care guys and have good whatever-time-it-is-wherever-you-are!**

 **Ciao for now!**

 **Joy**


	44. Junior Prom: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, or the characters, Rick Riordan does.**

Time skip: 1 month

 **Percy's POV**

I took a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, I didn't look half bad in a tux. If only I knew how to get this bowtie to do what I wanted.

We did it.

We actually did it.

Everyone passed their exams with flying colors! But... I couldn't enjoy it, not really.

My eyes looked dull, lifeless. I sighed, no point in dwelling in the past I suppose. I've got a date to pick up.

"Oh my gods Percy! You look so handsome! Doesn't he look handsome Poseidon?" My mom gushed. That brought a smile to my face. My parents were back. I liked it when they were around!

My dad grinned and nodded. "He really does. The apple doesn't fall that far from the tree after all."

My mom swapped his shoulder fondly, and I realized how much I've actually _missed_ my parents.

I blinked away the tears that suddenly formed.

My mom frowned. "Percy? What's wrong?"

I shook my head and smiled. "I just... Really missed you guys is all."

They both smiled sadly at me. "Son, we're really sorry we're so busy!" My dad said softly.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I know, and I totally get it! It's just... Hard sometimes I guess."

They both came over and hugged me. "We love you more than anything, you know that right Percy?" My mom whispered.

"Yeah, I know! And I'm not mad at you guys or anything, gods no, I just... I guess it just sucks..."

"Yeah, we know. But hey, we'll be around more next year! My work's finally letting up!" My dad announced with a grin.

My eyes widened. "Really?!"

My mom nodded. "Yes! And since I've worked so hard this year, I'm sure the firm wouldn't mind if I cut back a little."

I couldn't believe it! My parents, here at home, with me next year. Wow.

They both laughed at the face I was making.

My dad tussled my hair fondly. "Your face! Now get over here son, let me help you with that bowtie!"

"You actually know how to tie a bowtie?"

"Yes! Why wouldn't I?"

"Cause I've never seen you wear a suit? Like ever."

He looked offended. "Hey, I went to prom too when I was your age!"

"Like a thousand years ago! Besides, I figured mom helped you back then."

"...Shut up."

I grinned. He tied my bowtie and whistled. "Your date is one lucky girl son."

I blushed. "Dad! She's just... It's not... We're just going as _friends_!"

My mom grinned and pinched my cheek. "Until she sees how handsome you look! Just you wait... Promise us you'll use protection though."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What? Protection? Why would I..." Realization dawned on me at the knowing grins my parents sent my way. I swear, you could cook eggs on my face with how hot it felt.

"Mom! I don't... We're just... I'm not..." I sputtered out.

"It's okay son! It's perfectly normal for a boy your age!" My dad 'reassured' me. "In fact, if you want, I could pop by the drug store and buy you some-"

"Okay, I'm going now!" I shouted, not letting my dad finish his sentence. "I'm gonna go pick her up now and get the hades away from you perverts!"

"Aw son, don't be like that!" My dad said with this annoying smile. "Sex is a perfectly-"

"Lalalalalalala, I can't hear you!" I shouted, my hands covering my ears, because my dad did not just say sex. Nope. This didn't happen. This was aaaallll just some nasty dream, I mean nightmare.

"At least let me take a couple of pictures of you!" My mom exclaimed. "I don't know when you'll be in a tux again!"

I groaned, because I couldn't say no to my **mom**. Ever. "Fine, just a couple though, right? And no talking about sex. Ever."

They both smiled innocently. I take it back. I liked it more when they weren't around.

My dad went into his study while my mom snapped a couple of pics. Everything seemed totally normal, but then my dad came back. He shared this look with my mom, and she stopped taking pictures, but pointed the camera at my face. Oookay? I was looking at them suspiciously. They were planning something. I don't know what, but it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

My dad walked over to me and clapped me on the back. "Enjoy yourself okay Percy? Don't worry about a curfew or _anything_."

I snorted. "Dad, what the hell are you talking about? I don't have a curfew!"

"I'm just saying I don't want you to worry about _anything_ is all." He said with a crooked grin.

I looked at him weirdly. "Uh, okay?"

"Your father's right Percy, you don't have to worry about _anything_ , we've got it covered!"

"What are you guys-" I started but then my dad put something in my right hand.

I looked down, and oh my gods. It was a condom. A fucking condom. My dad just gave me a condom. Please, kill me now.

What. The. Fuck?! I don't think I've ever blushed as hard as I did in that moment.

My mom snapped a picture and they both laughed so hard, I swear they had trouble breathing.

"Mom! Dad! What the fu-"

My dad clapped me on the back and winked. "Enjoy your prom son."

I tried to give him back the condom, but my mom ushered me out the door and said "Hurry Percy, you have to pick up your date! A gentleman shouldn't keep a lady waiting! Enjoy your prom."

And then she slammed the door shut. I sighed and put the condom in my coat pocket. I shook my head. They were crazy.

Absolutely insane.

I still loved them to death though.

And with that in mind, I went to go pick up my 'date'.

-Line Break-

I took a deep breath. Why the hell was I so nervous? This wasn't a date! Not really. We were just friends.

Whatever. Just… Shake it off dude, shake it off.

I rang the doorbell and waited.

The door opened, and goddamn, I see where Piper got her looks from. Her mom was _gorgeous._ I gulped.

She smiled at me and squealed. "You must be Percy, Piper's date! She wasn't kidding when she said you were hot!"

I blushed. "Uh, hi? Nice to meet you- Wait, Piper said what?"

She winked at me and opened the door wider. "Come in, Piper's almost done."

So, I did.

And dayumn, Piper was loaded. I mean, yeah, okay in hindsight I should've known you know? She lived in a freaking mansion. Her dad was a famous movie star and her mom was a model. There was this huge marble staircase, paintings on the walls, and everything just looked... Expensive. I felt kind of uncomfortable. I mean, it's not like my family was poor by any means, but we weren't rich either. I couldn't help but feel like I didn't belong here.

All those thoughts flew out of the window when I saw Piper descend the staircase.

She was absolutely beautiful.

Her hair was braided with gold ribbons down one side, so it fell across her shoulder. She wore minimal makeup that made her lips glossy and kissable and brought out all the different colors in her eyes. And her dress. Man, oh man. She wore a black cutout gown, with a V-neck so low it made my head spin. Her biceps were circled by delicate gold armbands while an intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest. To top off the look, she wore these red high heels that made her legs look phenomenal.

I gulped, because I was definitely having thoughts that you shouldn't have about a friend.

Her mom squealed. "Oh my gods, you look amazing! You're all grown up!"

I'll say! I shook my head, bad Percy!

She's your _friend_ for gods' sake!

Piper smiled and holy shit she just became ten times more beautiful. How was that even possible?! There has to be a limit to beauty, right?

"Thanks mom!" And then she turned to me. "Hey Percy, you clean up well!"

I ran my hand through my hair, probably messing it up even more but screw it, I was talking to a beautiful girl. I cleared my throat. "Uhm... yeah... You... I mean... Just... Wow."

She grinned at me. "What's the matter Percy? Cat got your tongue?"

I blushed. "No! It's just... You! And... And...That dress! And… I…"

I sighed and smiled at her. "You look… Piper, I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't think the English language has enough words to describe just how beautiful you look right now. Trust me though, you look like a total knock out, the kind that just knocked out all of my remaining brain cells."

She laughed, and my stomach felt warm at the sound. Yeah, I wouldn't mind waking up to that sound for the rest of my life.

"Thanks, Aquaboy. You don't look so bad yourself."

I smirked at her. "Yeah? You think I look... hot?"

Now it was her turn to blush. "What? No! I never said that!"

"Uh-huh, sure you didn't."

"I didn't! Where would you..." And then she stopped and looked at her mom, who smiled innocently. And cue the blush on her face. "Mom! You told him?!"

Her mom just winked and said "I have no idea what you're talking about! Now Percy, put your arm around her."

I blinked. "Uh, what?"

"For the picture." She explained, a glint in her eyes.

I looked over at Piper and she looked just as embarrassed as I felt, but she didn't protest. Guess she's okay with it.

I did what her mom asked and holy crap her skin was soft.

Her mom took a couple of pictures, from different angles, and kept giving instructions on how to pose.

"Mom! We have to go! We're gonna be late!" Piper shouted after what felt like a thousand pictures later.

"Okay, okay, just one more! Let me go get the good lens." And then she left.

"I am so sorry about that!" Piper told me with an embarrassed look.

I smiled and said "Hey, don't worry about it Pipes, trust me I know what it's like to have embarrassing parents." The condom was burning a hole in my coat pocket after I said that.

She smiled back and I realized I still had my arm around her.

I cleared my throat and dropped my arm. "Uh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it... It felt kind of nice." She looked away when she said that.

I blinked.

"Really?"

"Don't make me say it again Peasant." The blush on her face took away the sting she probably intended.

I grinned at her. "All right all right, your Awesomeness... I liked it too by the way." Now I was blushing.

She looked into my eyes, and I'll admit, I kind of got lost in her eyes. They were so fascinating. I swear, one of these days, I will figure out the color of her eyes.

I don't what happened, but suddenly it seemed like we were... leaning towards each other? Our faces kept on getting closer and closer, but a flash stopped us before anything could happen.

Her mom grinned at the picture on the camera. "Perfect! I wish you kept on competing in beauty pageants..." Her mom said wistfully. Wait, what? That definitely broke the weird tension in the air.

"Mom!" She shouted indignantly.

I smirked at her. "So... You competed in beauty pageants?"

She glared at me. "Not. A. Word."

I put my hands up. "Hey, don't worry! I won't say anything..."

She looked relieved, but it would be short-lived.

"...Beauty Queen." I finished with a grin.

"You're dead meat Fish Breath!"

"Fish Breath?!" I repeated indignantly. "I do NOT have bad breath!"

"Uh-huh, whatever helps you sleep buddy."

"Aw, you guys are so cute together." Her mom cooed. "To be young and in love again."

Me and Piper protested.

"Woah hey, who said anything about love?"

"We're just friends!"

Her mom just smiled knowingly and put up her hands. "Oops, my bad. Now go on and enjoy your dance!"

Piper grabbed my arm and dragged me out. Probably to avoid having her mom spill more of her secrets.

"Bye mom!" She shouted behind her.

I waved at her and said, "It was nice meeting you Mrs. McLean!"

"Please, Percy call me Aphrodite!" She shouted back.

We were out the door and, in my car, now.

I looked at her and grinned. "Ready for prom Beauty Queen?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled back fondly. "Just drive Fish Breath, just drive."

"You got it Milady."

 **Nico's POV**

"Ready baby sis?" I asked Hazel.

She grinned. "You know it! I'm so excited!"

I had to smile back, because she was so adorable. Her hair was all curled up, and she wore this emerald green pleated gown, with gold jewelry, curtesy of our dad... She had purple eyeshadow that created this cool smoky effect. To top it all off she wore these open toed shoe... Heels thingy... Hey give me a break as if I'd know all the different kinds of shoes women wear.

"How do I look?" She asked nervously.

"Let's just say Frank's gonna drop dead..." I started.

She frowned.

"...because that's how gorgeous you look." I finished with a grin.

She smiled at me fondly and blushed." Oh stop! You're just saying that because you have to..."

I shook my head. "Hazel, I kid you not, you look great. Frank won't know what hit him."

She beamed a brilliant smile, and I instantly felt better. She hugged me and said, "Thalia doesn't know what she's missing either."

I sighed. "Well... Thanks! But, it's for the best. It is. With each day that passes, we seem to be getting closer and closer to being friends."

"I'm really proud of you guys. You're handling this break up in a very mature way."

I made a face at that, and Hazel laughed. "Don't remind me, ugh I'm actually growing up."

"Come on big bro, let's go meet the others."

"You've got it baby sis."

-Line Break-

We arrived and I gasped. Fuck, why did Thalia have to look good in literally anything?

She wore this red dress that reminded me of the one she wore on our first date. I had to blink away the tears that came with it. Her hair was longer than before, and it was the first time I saw her with curls. It looked good on her. Really good.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked, a concerned frown adorning her face.

I did my best to smile and said "Uh, yeah... Just, not used to seeing everyone all dressed up I guess."

She frowned, probably not believing me but didn't push it, thank gods.

We got out of my car and went to greet everyone. Frank's jaw dropped when he saw hazel and that definitely made me feel better. Hazel was in good hands.

Everyone laughed at the way Frank blushed and sputtered when he gave Hazel a corsage.

"What did I tell you Hazel?" I whispered to her.

She giggled. "Yeah, I think he might actually drop dead to be honest."

Frank gulped and took a deep breath. "Hazel, you look... Wow. Just... Wow."

She hugged him and said "You look very handsome right now Frank. Very dapper."

He beamed at her.

We all decided to give them some privacy.

"Hey where's Percy?" I asked a very nervous looking Jason. Weird.

"I don't know! They should be here right now!" He yelled out. "Oh my gods, what if they got into an accident? What if they're dead?!"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Jason, do you need me to slap you? Because I will do it. You know I will."

He paled. "No thanks sis, I'm cool, I'm cool."

"Great, because here they come." I announced, recognizing Percy's car.

"Dayumn, we look so good right now!" Leo commented, fixing his tie, after exiting Percy's car.

"We should totally take a pic!" Hazel proposed.

Percy and Piper groaned but were blushing. Huh. Weird.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Jason asked worriedly.

Leo put his arms around Percy and Piper. "Dude, you've met Piper's mom, right?"

Realization dawned on Jason. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Percy groaned out. "Fine, let's take a picture, but not too many all right?"

"Deal!" Hazel replied happily.

We took a selfie and looked at it.

"We do look good." Frank muttered.

"Too bad Annabeth isn't on it." Thalia commented, and then stiffened, realizing what she just said. "Uh, I mean.."

Percy clenched his jaw. "How about we go inside?"

"Seems like a plan hermano! Let's get dancing!" Leo whooped, effectively breaking the tension.

We all laughed and went in.

-Line Break-

I'm not gonna bore you with a description of prom. It looked like pretty much every school dance. You had a refreshments table, the dance floor that usually functioned as the gym, streamers, balloons and what not. We did have a band instead of a DJ, that was new.

We all walked toward this empty table and the girls placed their purses there. Leo fixed his tie and ran his hands through his hair. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've got a date to find."

"Khione?" Percy asked.

Leo sighed. "I wish, no, Nicole. I did agree to be her date and dammit, I'm a man of my word!"

"You? Man? Really?" Piper teased.

We all laughed at Leo's offended face. "I'll have you know I'm 100% pure man right here Beauty Queen."

"Beauty Queen?" Jason repeated.

Piper glared at Leo. "You're dead meat."

Leo paled and ran away. "Don't hurt me! I'm too pretty to die!" He shouted.

Piper ran after him, laughing maniacally.

"Uh... Hazel... May I have this dance?" Frank stuttered out.

Hazel beamed a smile at him and took his hand. "Anytime Frank, anytime."

And they were off.

Jason cleared his throat. "I uhh, I should make sure Piper hasn't killed Leo yet." And then he was gone.

Percy looked at me and Thalia and said "Uhm... I'm just gonna... go... Get some punch. Yeah, punch." He sent me a look, and I glared at him.

And he stood up and left me alone with Thalia. Traitor.

This was so awkward.

And then I recognized the song the band was playing. Wake me up when September ends by Green Day.

I knew what I had to do.

 **Thalia's POV**

Oh gods, this was so awkward.

Why did they have to leave us alone? I'm gonna kill them.

Suddenly Nico stood up and held his hand out to me and grinned. "May I have this dance?"

I recognized the song the band was playing and grinned back. "You got it Death Breath."

"Shut it Thunder Thighs."

We were now dancing, and it felt...

Natural. Right.

"What the fuck did you just call me?!"

He winked. "You heard me, loud and clear."

"Thunder Thighs? Really?"

"Yeah, it suits you I think."

"Perv."

He blushed. "What? I'm not a pervert!"

"He said while staring at my thighs."

"I wasn't... I'm not... I didn't..." He sputtered. "I'm not staring at your thighs now!"

"Now? So, you admit you do stare at my thighs then?" I smirked.

I didn't know it was possible, but he blushed even harder. "No! I don't... I don't stare at your thighs... Ever."

I laughed because he just looked so uncomfortable. I liked this look on him. "Whatever you say pervert."

"Listen, I am not a pervert!"

"That's like THE pervert motto! Yeah, they have you raise your right hand, put your left hand down your pants, and repeat that!"

"They? Who's they?!"

"The other perverts of course, duh."

He shook his head and looked at me in disbelief. "You... Are absolutely insane."

"Hey! You're insane too you know!"

"What? No way!"

"Have you seen yourself playing mythomagic? You become like... You become this mythomaniac!"

"That's not fair! You KNOW what that game does to me!"

I think it was in that moment, we both realized how ridiculous this conversation was. We laughed and looked at each other, properly for the first time in what felt like months.

"This is nice." He said with a grin.

"Yeah... It is. I missed this. I missed you."

"Me? Thals, we've been studying together for like a month."

I shook my head. "You know what I mean. It's different. We're not friends, not really."

He sighed. "Yeah, okay I get your point. It's just... Hard, I guess. I don't know how to act around you, you know? I've never been friends with any my exes before."

I scoffed. "And you think I have? Look at my track record!"

He laughed. "Yeah, wow. We suck. Really suck."

I grinned at him. "Maybe... Maybe we should hang out more, as friends. We've kind of been avoiding each other, and that certainly doesn't help a friendship grow."

"Well... That does make sense."

"And summer is coming up you know."

"And I don't have any plans."

"Neither do I."

Our eyes widened.

"We should all go on a road trip!" We shouted at the same time.

"Yes! That's it!" he exclaimed.

"That's exactly what we need. All of us." I agreed.

"Especially Percy."

"Fucking hell Nico, this is the best idea ever!"

"You know it Thals! Let's go tell the others."

"After this song."

"Well duh, gotta respect Green Day."

"Yeah you do."

 **Percy's POV**

I was drinking some punch, chilling, when I saw Leo talking to Nicole. She looked confused, and frankly so did he. After their interaction, he just sat down by one of those tables, looking dazed. I poured him some punch and decided to see what was going on.

I sat beside him and asked. "Hey dude, you okay?"

He looked at me, confused. "Uh... I think so?"

"I saw you talking to Nicole, dude what happened."

"Uh, I guess I'm off the hook? She seemed to have forgotten about the deal we made."

I blinked. "Seriously?"

He nodded dumbly. "Yeah... Apparently she's here with a guy named Brad?"

I frowned. "Hey, I'm sorry dude."

He shrugged. "Don't be. No sweat off my back to be honest. I'm just glad she's here with someone that really wanted to go with her."

I looked over at Hazel and Frank, they were slow dancing.

"See? That's how it should be." I said to Leo.

He followed my line of sight. "What? Like Frank and Hazel?"

"Yeah...easy. On some level, it just... has to be easy. It's just not like that with me and Annabeth."

"Yeah, but we can't all be like Frank and Hazel."

"I wish we could. They're perfect for each other."

He sighed sadly. "Yeah... They are, aren't they?"

I looked over at him. "You okay?"

"I... yeah, I'm fine."

I frowned. "Leo, it's me. Tell me, are you really okay? Is it the whole Nicole thing?"

He shook his head. "It's just... No, never mind forget it." he said quickly, looking intensely at Frank and Hazel. No. Wait, just at Hazel...

"Wait...you and Hazel?" I asked incredulously.

His eyes widened and he started sweating, "What? No! That's... that's ridiculous!"

"Dude. Be honest. Did you... Do you like Hazel?"

"Agh, fine! Yes, I liked at her a while back, a long time ago even, but that's over now! She's with Frank, and I like Frank. He's a great guy! They're great together! And I'm still figuring stuff out."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Did you ever tell her how you felt?"

He looked at me weirdly. "Are you crazy? Of course not!"

"Why not?"

"I was... I was waiting for the right moment, but then she got together with Frank, and well... You know... They became this perfect couple and I didn't want to ruin it."

"Wow... I never knew..." I said sadly, frowning.

He just shrugged. "Yeah, it was a while ago, I got better at hiding my emotions."

"When was this?"

"Uh, freshman year, I think. In the beginning it was just me and Piper, and then Jason joined our friend group and with him Thalia. Annabeth and Grover were already friends with her. Hazel joined shortly after, and then the next year Frank moved here, and well... They got together. So... yeah..."

"Wow, you guys have known each other for a while huh?"

"Ha, you kidding? You know Thalia, Annabeth and Nico go way back right? Well me and Piper go even way longer back. We were friends since we were five!"

"Damn, for real?"

"Yeah, that's why I see her as my sister. I even lived with her for a short while there. Good times, good times."

"What made fall for Hazel?"

Now, Leo smiles a lot, but I've never seen the smile he wore on his face now. He looked... at peace. Content.

"Did you know she guessed my favorite color on the first try?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Uh... no, I didn't."

"Between you and me though, I didn't even have a favorite color until she yelled out 'Yellow!'."

"Wait, really?"

"You should've seen her Perce, she was SO excited, and the way she smiled, she was just like a little kid! So... I told her she was right, and I haven't looked at yellow the same way since. It's in everything. I could probably live in it now."

And it was quiet for a while after.

"I'm sorry... I know it sucks when people say that, but I am. No one should have to go through that, least of all you." I said, looking at Frank and Hazel share a small content kiss.

He just took a big sip of the punch. "Me too... But hey, it's for the best, I mean just look at them. They really are perfect for each other. Besides, who I am to deprive the world of a single Leo? That's just too cruel if you ask me. Don't worry Perce, I'm fine."

I frowned. "You sure?"

"Yeah, hey no don't get me wrong, she still means the world to me, but... she's just not worth the fight anymore. I just... I can't keep holding on, I'm sure you understand huh?"

I sighed and smiled ruefully. "Ha, yeah... Yeah, I guess I do."

He clapped me on the back. "Chin up dude! It's not the end of the world. We're still young. And hey, I'm the living proof that you can get over someone. It's not the end of the world."

"Huh... Yeah... Thanks dude."

"I know it sucks when people say this, but it's true: Time heals all wounds, but it helps if you have good friends around. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't leave your date all alone." He said with a wink.

I followed his line of sight and saw Piper. I blushed. "Dude, we're just friends!"

"Whatever you say man, whatever you say. All I'm saying is, you guys got my blessing."

I was about to retort, but then Piper suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was standing in front us, arms crossed, foot tapping. This scene somehow felt familiar.

"Yo, Fish Legs you do realize this is a dance, right?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"Sooo... Why aren't you dancing?"

"Uhm.. Leo isn't dancing either!" I said defensively.

"Dude!" Leo exclaimed. "Not cool bro, not cool. Also, bye." And then he ran away. Dammit, how does he do that!?

I gulped, Piper did not look happy. At all. "Uh.. You look nice?"

She rolled her eyes fondly. "Come on Romeo, let's dance."

"But... It's a slow song!"

"So?"

"What if I step on your feet?" I asked with a concerned frown.

Her face softened. "I'm willing to risk it."

I looked at her, amazed. "You're not scared of getting hurt?"

"You're worth it."

She held out her hand and smiled. "Now, about that dance?"

I gave her my signature crooked grin and grabbed her hand. "Anything you want Beauty Queen, anything you want."

-Line Break-

"See? It's not so bad!" Piper reassured me.

"I guess..."

"So, you ready to look up now? Cause my eyes are up here." She said, amused.

I was currently looking at our feet, to make sure I didn't hurt Piper you know. As a gentleman. I did as she asked, and I saw her hold back a laugh. I frowned. "What?"

She just grinned and said "Oh, nothing. It's just... Usually when I say that to a guy well, he isn't looking at my feet."

I blushed, realizing how ridiculous this may be. "I don't want to hurt you! Besides, I'm pretty sure you don't put your feet in danger often."

She scoffed, but still had a fond smile on her face. "You kidding? With Leo? Every body part is in danger."

I laughed at that. "Fair point, fair point. All right Pipes, you have my undivided attention."

"Good. That's how it should be."

I couldn't help but think about how... right this felt. Just me and Piper, dancing, laughing, having a good time. I don't know what I would've done without her this month. I don't what I would do without her period. Everything was always easy between us.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" she asked me softly.

"Uh... Nothing."

She frowned. "Come on, it's me Percy. You can tell me anything!"

"I can't actually. You're like, the last person I can tell this to."

"Is it about my mom? Oh my gods, did she hit on you?"

I blinked. "What the fuck? No! Why would you even ask me that?"

She shrugged. "I mean, it's my mom. I wouldn't be surprised."

I shook away that mental image, because no. Just, no. "No, your mom did not hit on me. A sentence I never thought I'd ever say, but here we are."

"Then what is it?"

I sighed. "You ever... You ever think about us?"

"Us?"

"Yeah, you and me."

"Uh, yeah I guess, especially when we're about to hang out."

I shook my head. "No, I mean... Ugh, I can't really explain it well but... Like, what if we dated?" Wow, what a way with words I have. No wonder girls fall for me left and right, I'm a modern-day Shakespeare. Note the sarcasm.

"Ohh..."

"Yeah..."

Awkward. Wow, I really have a way with girls. I probably just ruined everything between me and Piper! I was about to retract my statement or pass it off as a joke but before I could, she spoke up.

"Yeah... Sometimes I think about that." She confessed with a blush.

I think my jaw fell open. No, scratch that, I was sure of it. "Really?"

"Don't make me say it again."

I cleared my throat. "Right, yeah no yeah. Of course... So... You want to? Date I mean." Agh, why can't I speak properly?!

She bit her lip, and I had to think back to our kiss. Man, why didn't I bite her lip? Woah, that sounded creepy.

"Depends, do you want to?"

"Well... I mean..."

"Let me rephrase that, are you in love with me?"

I blinked. Honestly? No, I knew I wasn't in love with Piper.

But, like have you ever felt potential love for someone? You're not actually in love with them, and you know you aren't, but you know you _could_. You realize you could _easily_ fall in love with them. It's like... a bud of a flower. Ready to blossom, but not _quite_ there yet. But you like them a lot, like really a lot. You think about them often, but you're not in love with them. You could be though. You know you could.

That's what I felt for Piper. Like I could be in love with her. Easily, but I wasn't. Not yet at least.

"No... But I could be. I know I could. And... I bet it'd be pretty great." I confessed, because I didn't ever want to lie to Piper.

She smiled at me. "Yeah, that's exactly how I feel, almost in love. It would be... pretty easy to fall in love with you if I'm not being careful. Listen Percy, maybe we won't work out. But, maybe seeing if we do, will be the best adventure ever."

I wanted to say something back, anything, but what? Because she was right. There wasn't any reason we shouldn't at least give this a shot. And then I felt someone stare a hole at the back of my head. I looked around, and I noticed Jason. Sitting there, and just... Staring at us. He didn't look mad, but he definitely didn't look happy either. He just looked... kind of like Leo to be honest. I frowned.

"Hey Piper, did you ever date Jason?"

"Jason?"

"Yeah, Jason. Because he is straight up just watching us over there, as if we were a car crash in slow motion."

She followed my line of sight and saw Jason. When he saw us looking at him, he panicked and... hid under the table? Wow, he is so not okay right now.

"Well.. We went on one date, in the beginning of this year, but it didn't work out. There wasn't any spark. That's what he said at least."

"Just the one date?"

"Yeah, and he didn't seem to have a crush on me or anything. In fact, I asked him if he was okay with you and me just to be sure."

I blinked. "You did? What did you ask him?"

"If he was okay with us hanging out more."

"And he said yes?"

"Yeah, he said it was totally cool."

We both looked at Jason, who was still hiding under the table.

"Somehow I don't think he's cool with this." I pointed out.

She frowned and nodded her head. "Yeah.. I don't think so either."

"Maybe... You and me, dating wouldn't be such a good idea.."

She sighed. "Yeah, maybe not."

"I should go talk to him."

"You sure Percy? Because I could talk to him if you want."

I shook my head. "Nah, don't sweat it. You enjoy the dance."

She bit her lip but nodded. "Okay.. And Percy?"

I turned around. "Yeah?"

She had this soft smile on her face, the same one before our kiss. "Some adventures can wait."

I smiled, feeling hopeful. "Yeah, some adventures are even better after waiting."

She winked. "Exactly."

Yeah, we'll be okay.

-Line Break-

I sat beside Jason under the table, who stiffened the moment I did that.

"Yo." I greeted him as casual as one could when he's under a table.

"Yo."

"So... What are you doing under the table here buddy?" I asked, because let's face it, I do not know how to be subtle. At all.

He cleared his throat. "Oh, uh... You know, hanging out, chilling all that jazz."

I nodded my head slowly. "Right, okay... Why under a table?"

"Uh... Cause it's fun?"

I sighed. "Cut the crap Jason, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me!"

"Uh-huh, sure. So all 'this'..." I motioned around the table, "has absolutely nothing to do with me and Piper?"

"Nope, this is all **me**."

"Right, okay. I'm not gonna force you to talk, but I will sit here with you all night until you feel better."

He frowned. "Don't you need to get back to Piper?"

I just shrugged. "She'll understand, and if she doesn't.. Well, then I'll deal with it."

"What about the dance? Don't you want to enjoy prom?!"

"Jason, I can't enjoy prom properly if you're miserable. Besides, lately it seems like everyone's got problems and they all came bubbling up now. It's time to deal with them, might as well start with yours"

"Yeah... I... Ugh, I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"I don't know.. How to tell you why."

"What do you mean?"

"It's so stupid, I just... It's not like I was in love with Piper or anything, and we only went out once but..."

"But?"

"I just... She used to have a crush on me you know?"

I blinked, because this was new information. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, back when we first met. I acted like I didn't notice, because... I just wasn't ready for that kind of commitment, hell I'm still not ready to be honest."

"So... Why'd you go out with her?"

"...I don't want to say."

"What? Why not?"

He hesitated, before looking down. "Because... Because you're gonna think I'm an asshole."

I lifted me left eyebrow. "Try me."

He took a deep breath. "I went out with her because... She was moving on from me."

I blinked. "...You're kidding right?"

He bit his lip and looked away.

"Bro.. Please, tell me you're kidding!"

He just sat there, silently looking away.

I shook my head. "What... What was.. Just.. Why?!"

He looked at me, with tears in his eyes. Wow, I did not expect that. "Look, I know okay Percy? I KNOW! I don't have the right to feel this way, but I do, okay?"

I sighed. "You know it can't go on like this right?"

He bit his lip again. "Because.. because you guys are together?"

I frowned at him. "What if we were?"

He clenched his jaw. "So, you guys are together then?"

I took a deep breath, because he was acting like a child whose toy got stolen. It took everything I had to stay calm.

"No, we're not."

He looked relieved, and that kind of made me mad.

"Jason, just because Piper and I aren't dating right now, it doesn't mean you can keep playing with her feelings!" I half-yelled, half-whispered.

"I know.. I just... I always figured, when the time comes for me to settle down, get married and have kids... She'd be... there." He admitted.

I scowled. "Jason, you are one of my best friends, and in another universe, we probably would've been cousins, which is why I'm gonna tell you this: That. Is. Not. Okay."

"What isn't?"

"Keeping Piper as a back-up! Fucking hell dude, you cannot have your cake and eat it too! It's one thing to think of her as a back-up, but to go on a date with her just so she wouldn't move on?! Who the fuck does that!?"

He opened his mouth, but I wasn't finished.

"No! You have to hear this: Piper is amazing. She's one of the best people I know. She deserves to be more than just a back-up. More than just the girl you go to once you've tried every other girl on for size. She deserves to be with a guy who wants to be with _her_. Not because she's his safety net, but because she's his one and only. His future. You understand that?"

"I... I.. Yes, I know okay? I hate that I feel this way! I hate that I can't control it, but... Whenever I see her with another guy... I just... I don't like it."

"Dude, she is not yours. She is not mine. She is not an object or some prize to be won. She's a fucking human being, with feelings, okay? Feelings, you're not supposed to toy with. In fact, she's you friend! And, as her friend, it is your duty to do whatever you can to make her happy. Even if it sucks for you. She deserves that."

He looked ready to argue, but all at once he seemed to have deflated. "Yeah.. Fuck, yeah, you're right... I... I've been a dick to her, haven't I?"

"A little bit yeah."

"What should I do?!"

"Dude, I don't know. Figure it out!"

"No, please Percy bro, you've gotta help me! What do I do?" He looked so desperate, I couldn't say no, well, again.

"Ugh, fine. First, you apologize to her."

"Okay, yeah I can do that."

"After that, you be her fucking **friend**."

He frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, the next time she's interested in a guy _other than you_ , you be fucking happy and supportive, like a friend."

He bit his lip.

"Come on dude, that's a no-brainer."

"But... What about you?"

I frowned. "What about me?"

"Well... Will you be supportive of Piper dating other guys?"

I laughed. "Dude, duh. She's my friend first and foremost. Nothing's gonna change that. As far as I'm concerned, as long as the guy doesn't force her to break her friendship with me, I'm cool with him. If there's a guy out there who loves Piper the way she deserves to be loved, I ain't standing in the way of that."

He looked amazed at that. "How? How.. How can you be like that? Don't you want to be with her? I've seen the way you guys look at each other."

I took a deep breath. "Fine, I'm not gonna lie to you Jason. I like Piper. A lot. But I'm not in love with her. Would it be great if she and I started dating? Hell yeah! But I'm fine just being her friend. I love being her friend! So, if that's all she wants from me, a friend, well then that's fine by me."

"But you're not mad about being in the friend zone?"

I looked at him weirdly. "Dude, I don't believe in the friend zone."

"What?"

"Piper, or women for that matter, don't owe us shit. If she doesn't want to date me, then that's _her choice_. She doesn't owe me sex or a relationship, just because I listen to her feelings, or I'm nice to her. And, that applies to you too."

He shook his head slowly. "Okay... Shit, you're right dude, you're right. I've been such a dick! Fuck... I'm gonna go apologize to her."

I smiled at him. Phew, another problem down. "That's great dude! And, remember this when she starts dating anyone else but you: You. Are. Her. Friend. It is your duty to either be happy for her or make her happy if you can. All right?"

He nodded his head vigorously. "Yeah, got it dude... Thanks... I needed to hear this."

"Hey, glad to say it. Good luck!"

"Wait, you're not coming with?"

"Nah, this is between you guys. I'll just, hang around, look for the other."

"All right dude. Seriously, thank you. I don't know what will happen in the future, but... I'm glad to have you in my life. You'll probably have to remind me of all of this the next time Piper goes on a date with another guy though."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure you'll handle it a lot better then. Give yourself some credit man, you're a great friend. We all have our moments, lord knows I do too."

"Thanks man. I'm glad we had this talk."

"It was... Long overdue, I guess. Now go on, go talk to her!"

"All right, all right, I'm going. Mom."

"Careful with your tone mister."

We both laughed and went our separate ways.

I wonder what the next problem will be?

 **Nico's POV**

"Where the hell is everyone?!" Thalia wondered.

I shrugged. "Beats me."

She rolled her eyes. "Right, well I'm gonna go outside and get some fresh air."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Gonna go smoke?"

She shook her head. "Nah, trying to cut back a little."

I blinked. "Thalia Grace, are you actually trying to live longer?"

She stuck out her tongue. "Shut up."

"What's next? No more drinking?" I teased.

She shoved me playfully and rolled her eyes. "I do think about my health sometimes Death Breath."

"Yeah, but those moments are usually rare and fleeting."

"Fuck you."

"If you insist."

"Aaaand the pervert is back." She said with a smirk.

"I am not a pervert!" I yelled, standing up.

She winked. "Whatever you say... Pervert." And then she ran away. Bitch.

I sat back down, wondering what my next move would be. Maybe pick up a girl? I mean, it has been a while, and Thalia and I broke up. Then again, I am rusty and frankly, things were good between me and Thalia. Fragile, but good. I didn't want to mess that up by inadvertently hurting her...

I sighed, when did this all get so complicated? Maybe I should just go home, I mean, what else was there to do? Hazel had Frank. Percy had Piper, which I totally ship by the way. Jason was probably flirting with some girls. Thalia would probably go check up on Annabeth. And Leo? Well, Leo's always got something going on.

Speak of the devil.

"Nico, I need your help!" He cried out, sitting beside me.

"Uh, okay. What's up?"

"She's here!"

"Uh, what?"

"She... She actually came! You all said she wouldn't!" He said, obviously panicking.

I frowned. "I'm gonna need a name and maybe some context right about now."

He looked at me as if I was the one who was acting crazy. "Khione! Khione is here!"

I blinked. "Wait, seriously? Khione, the not-hot girl, Khione?"

"Yes! She's here!" I didn't understand. Wasn't this great news?

"Well, that's great!"

He looked at me as if I just grew two heads. What is up with this boy?!

"What?! No, no, you guys **swore** she wouldn't come here!"

I rubbed my head. "Dude, what is the problem? I thought you wanted her to show up!"

"But.. I never thought she actually would!"

"I'm confused. Why the hell are you talking to me, when you could be flirting with her?"

"Because... I don't... I didn't... I can't..."

"Dude, you flirt with like every girl you see. What makes now different from any other night out?"

"Because.. Because she might _actually_ like me, okay?"

"What?"

"She showed up. That means she might like me!"

"So? That's great! Right?"

He looked down.

You know, now that I think about it, he always seemed a little relieved every time a girl rejected him... I never really thought that hard about it, but.. What is going on right now?

"Leo? Buddy? What's wrong?"

He kept on looking down at his feet. Okay, now I'm starting to worry.

I put my arm around him.

"Dude, you know you can tell me anything right?"

"I know.."

"So, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong. I'll listen and if possible, help you. But you have to talk first. We can take it step by step if you're have trouble finding the right words, okay?"

He bit his lip and nodded. "It's just... I don't... I never thought a girl would like me."

I frowned. "Hey, no, girls like you!"

"Yeah, as a friend! Which I liked."

"Wait, what?"

"I like being friends. I love being friends. It's easy, and fun. It makes sense."

"I'm really sorry dude, but I'm not following you. You like being friends with girls?"

"Yeah, only friends."

"..okay, yeah that's fine. What's the problem?"

"Well... Khione probably wants to be more than friends."

"And... that scares you?"

He bit his lip again and nodded. "Yeah.. it terrifies me."

"Why?"

"Because.. She probably wants to do stuff..."

"And..."

He took a deep breath. "I don't."

"What?"

"There's something wrong with me Nico." He whispered, his voice cracking.

I frowned. "Hey, no, Leo. Don't think like that! There's absolutely nothing wrong with you!"

He looked up, and I saw tears in his eyes. "Yes! There is, okay? I'm not normal!"

I grabbed him by the shoulder and looked him in the yes. "Leo, nobody's normal! Fuck normal, it doesn't exist!"

"Then why the fuck am I like this? Why don't I want what everyone else wants? I'm a guy! I should want sex, right? I should want a girlfriend, but I don't! There's something fundamentally wrong with me! I flirt and I flirt, and I flirt, but I just can't feel what every other guy feels! I'm fucking broken. I'm a failure."

I hugged him. "Dude, you're **not** broken, okay? Just because you don't want to have sex, or... a girlfriend doesn't mean you're broken or a failure. Fuck your aunt."

He sniffed. "How'd you know it was my aunt who said that?"

"Because she's a fucking bitch."

He laughed a little at that. "Yeah, she is."

"Listen dude, no one's gonna judge you for being the way you are. We can't control the way we feel. There is no right way to be a person. You're your own person. So, what if you're not the same like every other guy? You don't have to be. Frankly, the media can go shove it. Not every guy has to want sex, or a girlfriend, or a family. There is no right way to live a life."

"Thanks Nico... I... I needed to hear that. I guess... I just thought... If I told you guys..."

I broke off the hug to look him in the eyes. "Leo, we're your friends. We're here for you, always. I know for a fact, each and every one of us would die for each other. There's no way we're gonna judge you, just because you're a little different from what we know. We fucking love you dude, and this won't change anything. We're all still figuring ourselves out."

He smiled, a real smile, the one that reached his eyes and I saw that familiar twinkle return. Thank gods.

"Thanks Nico... I just... I never really said it out loud before, not after I told my aunt."

"We're not your aunt, we'll always be there for you. Never forget that."

He took a deep breath. "Okay... Here goes: I'm asexual."

He looked relieved after saying that, but I could still see the tension in his shoulder. I think my heart broke a little at that. Fuck his aunt for making him feel this way. For shaming him, just because he wasn't like everyone else.

Fuck. Her.

I smiled encouragingly. "Okay... Still love you dude."

He smiled back. "Thanks, love you too... Sooo... Wanna hug again? The last hug was super hot." He wiggled his eyebrows.

I shook my head but smiled fondly. There's the Leo I know. "Shut up, perv."

"What? I'm not a pervert!"

"Whatever you say... Pervert." Okay, now I see why Thalia was doing this. It was fun when you weren't on the receiving end.

He shoved me playfully. "Takes one to know one."

Damn, why the hell didn't I use that come back?!

"Shut up."

"You love me."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I think we covered that already."

"Just like hearing it is all I'm saying."

"In your dreams Valdez."

He pouted. I smirked and pointed to the dance floor. "How about we show them how it's done, Flaming Valdez?"

He grinned and high-fived me. "You got it Ghost King!"

-Line Break-

I'll never admit it, but I do love dancing. A lot.

I don't know if I'm any good, and frankly, I don't really care. It was on the dance floor, when a flash of blonde hair caught my eyes. It was a guy, dancing with a girl with glossy black hair.

It was him! That guy from the climate march!

FLASHBACK

" _Fuck. Shit. Damn it all to hell!" I cursed out._

 _I was currently at the infirmary, after beating the shit out of some asshole who decided to drive through the fucking climate march. He almost killed Grover and Juniper! So, I threw a rock at his car, which he did not appreciate. At all. Fuck him though, cause I beat his ass real good._

 _Grover frowned. "I'm really sorry Nico! It's all my fault."_

" _Dude, no. What kind of a dick drives through a fucking march anyway? It's not your fault okay?"_

 _Grover bit his lip. "But... If I was paying attention none of this would've happened."_

 _I rolled my eyes. "Trust me Grover, you didn't do anything wrong. Now go on, don't leave your girl waiting outside of this tent."_

" _Dude, I'm not leaving you alone, injured!" He protested._

 _I smiled fondly. "It's fine. I'll be fine. I've had worse! Besides, I know for a fact you've got a certain question to ask her at a certain coffee shop. I'm at the infirmary, I'll be fine. Now go." I shooed him with my hands._

 _He bit his lip. "Are you sure? Because I can ask her some other time, it's really not that big of a deal!"_

" _Well it is to me. I'll be fine dude. Trust me."_

 _He looked back one more time and said "Okay, but if you need me for anything, anything at all just call and I'll be here in a flash, okay?"_

 _I nodded my head. "Will you just go already? I'll be fine!"_

 _And then he left. Phew, I would've hated myself if I was the reason, he didn't ask his dream girl to prom._

" _Wow, what happened here?" someone said suddenly._

 _I opened my eyes and was greeted with eyes as blue as the sky. It was a guy with shaggy blond hair and a surfer-body. He was holding a clipboard and wore this white vest. Guess he was the nurse._

" _Uh..."_

 _He rolled his eyes but smiled. "Let me guess? I should see the other guy?"_

 _I laughed. "Well... yeah, you probably should! I beat his ass pretty good!"_

" _Why am I not surprised Di Angelo?"_

 _I blinked. "How do you know my name?"_

 _He grinned, and I swear for a moment I was blinded by his teeth. Who the hell was this dude? The child of the sun god or something?!_

" _Come on, everyone in school knows about Nico Di Angelo."_

" _We go to the same school?"_

" _Yeah, I'm Will Solace. Although, I'm not surprised you don't know me, I'm not that popular."_

" _Really? I figured a guy like you would be."_

 _He blushed and looked away. "...thanks, but uhh... they don't really like me."_

 _I frowned. "Why not? You seem perfectly nice."_

 _He bit his lip. "Well.. Some people are just like that."_

" _Tell me their names, I'll beat them up!"_

 _He smiled, and put his hand over mine, to stop me from getting up. It sent an electric current down my spine, which shocked me, so I pulled away my hand. What the fuck was that?!_

 _Will looked confused and hurt, and I didn't like the fact that I was the reason for that, but.._

" _Uh... Sorry, I just.. You're hands are cold."_

" _Oh, uh.. sorry! Let me just.. Let me just check out your wounds, so we can get on with our days."_

" _Right, yeah okay. Again, really sorry."_

 _He shook his head and sent me another dazzling smile. "Don't worry about it."_

 _I blinked. What the hell was happening to me?_

 _Man, maybe I got a concussion or something._

END FLASHBACK

He must've felt my eyes on the back of his head or something, because before I knew it, he turned around and our eyes met.

His face seemed to light up when he saw me, which was... Weird to say the least. People at school don't usually look all that happy when they look at me.

"Nico!" He exclaimed. "Hey! Long time no see!"

I smiled back, because well... How could I not? His smile seemed to be contagious or something.

"Hey Will. Great to see you again!"

"What?" he shouted. The music was pretty loud. He grabbed my arm and dragged me away to a quieter spot. "There much better, now we can catch up."

"Uh, yeah. So, what you been up to Will?"

"Eh, same old same old. Nursing kids back to health, surfing, the usual. What about you? Still getting in to fights?"

I grinned. "Nah, my cousin made me study so.."

"Wow. I would love to meet this miracle worker. Seriously."

I shoved him playfully. "Shut up. I study."

He gave me a look that said 'Really'

"Sometimes I do!"

He just kept on giving me the same look, until I finally relented. "Fine, yes, I don't study! There you happy?"

"Very. How'd your exams go?"

"Pretty good, I passed all of them with flying colors thanks to my cousin. How about you? How'd your exams go?"

"Great! Got all Aces!"

"Oh shit, really? So, you're like really smart then?"

He blushed. "Uh, no.. I just study, I mean.." He looked kind of cute when he stuttered. I shook my head.

I did NOT just think that. Nope. Nopety nope. Not gonna open that can of worms tonight.

"Hey who's that girl you were dancing with? I've never seen her around."

He looked towards the dance floor. "Oh, that's Reyna! She just transferred here from San-Francisco."

I frowned. "Really? But the school year just ended!"

"No, I mean... She'll be going to school here next year."

"But.. What's she doing here now? I mean, does she know anyone here?"

Will frowned. "Uh, I think so. She said she knew a couple of people that moved here from San-Francisco. Apparently, a friend insisted she come to this thing as his date."

"Ohh, okay! Who's her friend?"

"I don't remember his name to be honest... I think it was Dave? Dan? Devin? I... I can't for the life of me remember! It's on the tip of my tongue!"

I frowned. San-Francisco? Oh.. Oh fuck. Please, no. Just this once, let me be wrong.

I sighed. "By any chance, was his name... Derek?"

Will's face lit up. "Yes! Thank you! That was gonna bug me all night! Derek! His name was Derek."

Great.

That's just great.

Right when you think things were looking up.

I needed to find Annabeth.

Hell, I needed to find everyone.

I bit my lip, because I genuinely enjoyed talking to Will, but my friends needed me.

"Hey Will, it was great talking to you, but I've gotta find my friends."

He looked disappointed but smiled. "Yeah, sure okay! I'll uhh, I'll see you around next year?" he looked hopeful.

I winked before saying "You bet! I'm gonna need a nurse with all of the fights I'm planning."

And then I ran.

Where the hell was everybody?!

What the hell was going on?!

* * *

 **Yoooo, what is up good people? I was mistaken, my last exam was on Friday, so yay for that. I had to work this weekend, so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to work on this chapter :( Also, sorry buuuuut the answer to Percy's question, won't be stated explicitly in this chapter. I mean, if you read between the lines (not like it's _that_ hidden though) you can kind of guess it. I was originally planning on revealing it in the beginning of the chapter as a flashback, but then I rewrote the chpater and, rewrote it again, and... Ugh, it'll be in the next one I'm afraid.**

 **I am so sorry for the long wait, I really was looking forward to writing this chapter, but I must've rewritten it like five times... I know what I wanted to put in this chapter, I just didn't know how. In fact, I had to split this up into two parts, just because I haven't even covered everything I was planning on covering! I'm not even done! There's still SO much that has to happen, I underestimated the sheer size of this chapter. I though I could write the whole prom thing in one chapter, but nope. Sorry for the delay guys. I've already started on the next chapter, but as for when it will be posted... I'd say definitely next week, probably Friday? It's just, ugh, SO frustrating, because I have so many ideas for this chapter, but sometimes I just don't know how to write them down! I'm still not completely happy with this version to be honest, but it's the best I could do :(**

 **Shiiiiit is going dooown tho! I hope I surprised you guys, even a little bit with Leo. I know, I know, how the hell can he be asexual when he just admitted to liking Hazel?! The answer to that is: Just cause someone's asexual DOESN'T mean they can't fall in love, okay? Love doesn't always have to be about sex. Or, at least that's what I think. It's possible you think otherwise, and we can get into it if you want, but that's my stand point on that. Anyhow, asexual people can still have sex and fall in love. Some do, some don't. It's as simple and complicated as that. Then again, I'm not an expert on the subject so maybe I'm writing utter bullshit. If so, do let me know, I'd hate to misrepresent :(**

 **And yeah, this was a pretty uhh, Percy-centric chapter, not gonna lie. To be honest, I'm have some difficulties writing in the other's POV's, I don't know why though. Maybe because the chapters have gotten longer over the years, or maybe I'm just losing my touch, who knows. Annabeth's POV will be coming in the next chapter, don't worry, I just couldn't really fit her in to this one. I have plans for her, but they happen later. Ugh, don't even get me started on the timeline actually, it's kind of a mess, but I'm really hoping it'll all work out in the end.**

 **Now, onto to the reviews:**

 **To Anna: Yeah, hehe, it was about time? Man, I really know how draw stuff out huh? XD And you really think so? I don't really go on Wattpad to be honest, it uhh, it kind of confuses me a little...**

 **To Starbreaker195: Yeah, I'm sorry dude! But, to be fair, I actually really wasn't planning on having Percy confess... I was just as surprised as you were, but it felt... Kind of right too you know? Ugh, I can't really explain it, but I followed my gut and I have NO REGRETS! Also, you should know by now, cliff hangers are my thing ;) AND NOOOO NOT ANOTHER NONAME, oh gods, the horror! (Nice pun with my name btw ;D)**

 **To NONAME2002: ...I mean, as for as you all know Annabeth didn't say yes. I mean, okay, technically she didn't say no either, but let's just focus on the fact that for now, she didn't say yes. That's uhh, that's gotta count for something, right? *starts sweating profusely***

 **To RoyalFox89: Sorry dude (but not really cause I'm evil like that I guess)! Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this one as well ;)**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Sorry dude, the next part of that cliffhanger will take place in the next chapter :( Trust me, it'll all be worth it!... Well, I hope. As for the college experience, not gonna lie, it's okay. I'm not that great at meeting new people to be honest, so I haven't really made any new friends yet. I'm uhh, not the most social person around, but I'm trying to change that. Baby steps dude, baby steps. What about you? You still in college, or already working?**

 **To Pregnantnun227: Thanks, although it's nothing special. People really should just keep their word, it's just common decency. It's the bare minimum a person can do. But these days, it seems to be rarer and rarer (sadly). And yeah, I'm pretty sure you're not my mom. At least, I hope not... O_o. And thank you I am in fact female, and I do my best to place myself in the shoes of a guy, it's nice to know I nailed it, or at least got most things right. You're right though, I never could've pulle** **d off that ending 3 years ago. I really cringe when I reread the first couple of chapters of this story, and I am constantly surprised by the fact that you all have powered through that drivel, just to get to the next chapter. It boggles my mind. I am planning or reworking this story once it's finished though, because no. Just, no to the first couple of chapters. I'm sorry for retracting the last chapter though, I really should have planned that better, and to be honest I didn't really plan the last chapter. Normally, the last chapter should have been the prom chapter, but frankly speaking, I don't regret it. That chapter set the basis for this one (well, actually the next one more than this one), and I wouldn't have done it any other way. You were right about Jason though. I was planning on handling the whole Jason thing, I mean I was working my way toward well... This chapter. Everything that's happened so far in this story was exactly for these two chapters. Or, that was the plan. I'm still working out the mechanics. Hope you liked this chapter though.**

 **To MasterTrident: Hey, I'm no THAT cruel!... Well... I could be crueler, okay? I really could. I mean, to be honest though, was anyone really surprised by this? I wasn't exactly hiding it now was I? Subtle, I am not. That is true though. I'm not saying it's impossible for a guy and a girl to be just friend, I'm just saying it's hard. Really fucking hard. But hey, Grover and Piper are doing a pretty good job at that right? :D**

 **To Riptide 013: Awww, come on! It's not like that's the first cliff hanger of this story! You guys should be used to this by now! Or, you should've been really suspicious when I was posting chapters _without_ cliff hangers. That really should've raised red flags right there. The signs were all there. But yeah, no yeah the last cliff hanger... that was definitely evil of me. I don't regret it though ;)**

 **Welp, that seems to be all of them for now! Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter! Loved it? Hated it? Confused? Let me know, I am genuinely curious, because for real, the whole story, is supposed to culminate in this (and the next) chapter. I guess you could say this is part 1 of the finale of this story. Well, of their junior year that is. Don't even get me started on their senior year, because... I don't really have anything for that yet. Sigh, we're only half-way done with this story. Gods, this will take forever. Lucky you. A big thank you to all of the people that have reviewed, will review, or are planning on reviewing. I really do appreciate the feedback and/or ideas, and hope they keep on coming.**

 **Anyhow I'll see you all in the next!**

 **Peace,**

 **Joy**


	45. Junior Prom: Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the characters, Rick Riordan does.**

 **Annabeth's POV**

I don't get it.

I gave up everything.

My friendships.

My time.

My... _Percy_.

 **Everything.**

To be with Derek.

To make him happy.

To get our relationship back to the way it was before.

Simple. Fun. _Easy_.

And now, it was everything but that. Something was missing.

I missed my friends. I missed Percy. I missed the way things used to be.

The drive to prom was silent and tense. Gods, it was like my parents' marriage over here. He hasn't said a single thing about my dress. He hasn't uttered a single word all night actually. He's been so cold and distant lately. I thought everything we went through would've made us stronger. But... It didn't.

I just... don't get it. What more can I do? What more does he want from me?!

-Line Break-

When we arrived, I saw all of my friends take a selfie, and my heart ached. I should've been there with them. I should've been there all those sleepless nights of revision before the exams. I should've been there when they announced our grades. I should've been there to celebrate with them.

I should've been there.

I missed them, I really did. I missed studying with them. I missed joking around with them. I missed hanging out at Percy's, eating dinner together, like a family. I missed my friends. I missed my family.

Because that's what they were to me. Family. My friends were the one constant in my life, and I gave them up. And for what? A guy that seemed to hate me now.

Sure, he still held the door open for me, but he didn't look at me anymore. Not like he used to. Not like before.

This couldn't go on. I knew that.

But I gave up everything for him.

That meant something.

It has to.

-Line Break-

I sighed. I was currently sitting at a table, all alone. Derek just left me, muttering something about finding someone, and I didn't know what to do. I mean, it's not like I can go talk to my friends now, can I?

What happened to me? When did I become the kind of girl that gave everything up for a guy? When did I become that bitch? I always thought of myself as an independent woman, and yet here I am doing exactly that. Oh, my gods... I finally understood Thalia. I've always resented her for giving away her independence to Luke, but now... Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I'm so sorry Thalia.

This couldn't go on.

-Line Break-

All around me, people were dancing, laughing, having a good time. Derek still hasn't come back. Maybe he never would. Maybe that would be for the best.

I shook my head at that thought. No. I can't start thinking like that!

I saw Frank and Hazel slow dance and share a small kiss, and I felt my heartache.

Simple, fun, _easy_.

I saw what Hazel meant now. I want an amazing relationship. I missed having an amazing relationship.

But... did I ever really have that with Derek? I thought back on the early stages of our relationship here in New York. It was simple, fun and easy back then. What changed?

-Line Break-

Oh my gods.

Every time he annoyed me or got me angry, I went to...

Percy.

It's Percy.

That's what was missing.

I bit my lip.

What am I going to do?

What else could I do now?

-Line Break-

He still hasn't come back.

I clenched my jaw. Why the hell was I still here? Why did I even bother? I should just go. Obviously, he wasn't here anymore.

I grabbed my stuff and went to the parking lot; his car was still there.

Where was he?!

"Annabeth?" a familiar voice said behind me. It couldn't be...

I turned around. "Reyna!" I said, surprised. Man, I haven't seen her in what felt like ages! She came from the school and she looked sweaty. Huh, she must've been dancing.

She smiled. "It is you! Thank gods, I was scared you were just a random blonde girl. Gods, that would've been awkward."

I grinned and hugged her. I've missed her so much! "What are you doing here in New York?"

"We moved here. I'll actually be going to school here next year."

"Why didn't you text me?"

"I tried! But my phone broke and I didn't have your number anymore!"

"Oh, that sucks! What are you doing here, in my school though?"

She looked uncomfortable. "Uh, I'm sort of on a date."

I blinked. I did not expect that. "Oh, that's cool. I didn't know you knew anyone from my school. Do I know him?"

She looked down. "Uh, yeah, I think you do."

"Never thought I'd live to see the day, Reyna on a date."

She smiled uncomfortably. "Yeah... Weird, right?"

I looked at her weirdly. She was acting really strange. I know we haven't really kept in touch, but still.

"Everything okay Reyna?"

She bit her lip. "Annabeth... Some things happened while you were away. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did, and I'm so sorry!"

I frowned. "What? Reyna, you're not really making any sense right now. What happened?"

"Promise me you won't be mad?"

"Uh, no?"

"What, why?"

"Well, if I have to promise that, then I probably will get mad."

"Ugh, I forgot how logical you were."

"Come on Reyna, spill. What happened?"

"Derek and I hooked up."

It felt like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over me. "What?!"

"I didn't mean for it to happen, I swear! We were playing seven minutes in heaven at this party, and well..."

I didn't hear what she said afterwards. They hooked up. Reyna and Derek. Derek and Reyna. Why didn't he _say_ anything? I asked him if he and Reyna ever a thing had, because I kind of got that vibe when I was in San Francisco. He swore there never was or will be anything between them.

Liar.

Fucking liar.

What else did he lie about?

Reyna waved her hand in front of my face.

"Annabeth?"

That broke me out of my daze. "Oh, uh... It's fine. I mean, I left. So, it makes sense he moved on, right? I didn't think it would have been with you, but that's life, right?"

"Uh, yeah I guess so. I'm really sorry Annabeth!"

I waved away her apology. She didn't owe me one. "It's _fine_ Reyna. I mean, it's not like you guys are together now, so..."

She frowned. "What? What gave you that idea?"

I frowned back. "Uh, because he's my boyfriend?"

She shook her head slowly. "Uh, no. He and I are on a date right now. He insisted on bringing me here."

She might as well have slapped me when she said that.

"Oh. He did?"

She saw my face and put two and two together.

"That son of a bitch." Reyna was livid right now. There was a reason people thought she was the daughter of a war goddess. You did not want to piss her off.

"I'm going to kill him. "She told me. "I'm going to fucking kill him."

As for me?

I was numb.

I should've been mad, madder than Reyna.

I should've been sad, sadder than when he picked me up.

I should've been a lot of things.

But all I felt was... Nothing.

Empty.

Cold.

"Annabeth, are you okay?" Reyna asked me, her face softer than before. "Never mind... Dumb question.."

"Can I be alone? Please?"

She frowned. "I don't think I should leave you alone."

"Please? One of us has to find Derek and beat him up."

"Are you sure? Is there anyone you want me to find to comfort you?"

No.

I made sure of that two months ago.

No one would come for me.

I deserved this.

"Reyna, please. Just... go."

And she left.

I leaned against the wall and crumpled up.

-Line Break-

This was my fault.

It had to be.

Derek was a perfectly nice guy until we got back together.

I did this to him. I made this monster. I treated him like _**shit.**_

 _Of course,_ he would cheat on me.

I'm the worse.

I couldn't even cry.

I cried for days on end when my friendship with Percy ended.

But now my world was imploding right before my eyes, and all I could do was stare silently.

Someone ran through the doors and stopped beside me.

"Annabeth?"

I looked up.

...

Fuck.

 **Thalia's POV**

I went outside, not to smoke.

I really was trying to cut back. It was nice, you know. I felt a lot better, add the no drinking and you had me. I actually felt like I was in the prime of my life.

I saw this girl.

She had impossibly black eyes, that pierced through my soul. Her glossy black hair was woven into a complicated looking braid. Her purple toga-like dress made her look regal, and her face even more so. She looked like she could take on any challenge.

She looked lost though.

Eh, might as well help her.

"Hey, excuse me. Can I help you?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm looking for the prom thingy?"

"Sure, I can show you to it." I frowned. "How do you not know where it is though?"

"Hey, cut me some slack. I don't go to school here till next year."

"Next year?! What the hell are you doing here now then?"

She sighed. "A guy asked me to be his date. I said yes, and here I am."

"Wait, a guy asked you to this dance? As a first date?"

"Uh, no. Technically, this isn't our first date."

I scrunched up my face. "Sounds complicated."

She smiled. She had a nice smile. "You don't know half of it."

I liked this girl. She seemed to have some spunk in her.

"I'm Thalia by the way."

"Reyna. Nice meeting you."

"Likewise. Where did you come from by the way?"

"San Francisco."

I blinked. Did everyone who moved here come from San Francisco? Like, what is up with that?

"Nice. I have a friend who used to live there."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Who? Maybe I know him, or her."

"Percy?"

She blinked. "Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah, I know him! It's been ages since I last saw him!"

"You guys used to go to school together?"

She shook her head. "No, no, we used to go to the same summer camp. Camp Jupiter. But then he moved, to well..."

"New York?"

"Yes! Wow, don't tell me..."

"That he goes to school here? Okay, I won't tell you."

"No way. What a small world! How's Percy doing these days?"

"Not bad, not bad at all. You can ask him yourself if you want, we're here." And then I opened the gym doors. "I'm not sure where he is though." I told her.

"That's okay. If I don't find him now, I know I will next year."

"Did you guys.. you know, go out?"

She got this faraway look. "No, never. We were just friends. Percy... didn't seem to have all that much confidence back then. I don't know about now. He just always sort of kept to himself, with his nose in a book."

I blinked. "Really? Percy? Read?"

She looked at me weirdly. "Yeah, in fact I can't remember a time where Percy didn't have a book in his hand."

I frowned. "Are we talking about the same Percy here?"

"Uh, I think so. Guy with raven black hair, sea green eyes, and a crooked grin?"

"That sounds like him but.. I haven't seen him read a book."

"That can't be."

"Plus, our Percy seemed to like talking to new people. I mean, he became friends with like eight people in a short period of time."

"Wow... Things have really changed. Does he still wear sweater vests?"

I snorted. "Percy used to wear sweater vests? Oh my gods, please tell me you have pictures!"

"I think so, they're in my room."

"Please please, please tell me you'll let me make a copy of them."

She had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "We'll see."

"Hey Thals, who's your new friend?"

We both turned towards the new voice and standing there was my brother with his 'lady-killer' smile. Disgusting.

"Reyna, I'd like you to meet Jason, my brother. He tried eating a stapler once so that's why he has that scar."

Jason's face flushed. "Thalia!"

I just looked at him innocently. "What?"

Reyna was holding her laugh. "Nice to meet you."

Jason turned towards Reyna and grabbed her hand. He placed a kiss on it and said, "Believe me, the pleasures all mine."

I rolled my eyes. "She didn't say pleasure to meet you."

"Oh." Oh my gods, Jason's face was so red right now.

Reyna let out her laugh now.

He cleared his throat and scratched behind his neck.

"I uhh, I'm gonna go find Piper now."

"Yeah, I think that's for the best." I told him earnestly.

"Right, well.. It was nice to uh, to meet you Reyna."

"Pleasures all mine Jason." She said with a grin.

Jason's face flushed even more at that.

When he left, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started laughing so hard, and that set off Reyna.

"Oh my gods, his face!" I wheezed out.

"I know! That was priceless!" She exclaimed.

I wiped away a tear. "Listen, this was so much fun, but I should probably look for my friends."

"Yeah, and I should probably find my date." she sounded a little disappointed. Weird.

"Okay, well... I really hope to see you around more Reyna. Anyone that can make my brother go red like that is always welcome."

"Right back at you Thalia. I'll look for you guys later. "

"Awesome. Have fun with your date! But if you don't just look for me and my friends." I whispered the last part.

She grinned. "Hey, if all of your friends are like you... Well let's just say next year will be a lot more interesting."

"Ohh, I like you. Now go on, before I change my mind and kidnap you."

"Roger that. See you around Thalia."

"Bye Reyna!"

And then I lost her between all of the dancing teenagers. Damn, I should've offered to help her find her date.

Huh, I wonder... Who's the lucky guy?

Eh, probably no one I knew.

-Line Break-

Seriously, where the hell was everybody?

Nico disappeared too now. In fact, I couldn't even see Hazel and Frank dance anymore.

I was sitting at our table, all alone.

I wonder how Annabeth was doing?

I know, I know, what she did to Percy sucked. But... She was still my best friend. She would always be my best friend. Even when she was acting like a bitch. I've been in her position before, so I know what she's going through...

I should find her.

Let her know I was still, and always would be, her friend.

I looked around, but I couldn't see her. I did, however see Derek. Huh, he looked like he was looking for someone too. Maybe I could help him.

"Yo Derek." He jumped when he heard me. Weird guy.

"Oh, uh, hey Thalia. What uh, what's up?" he said, looking really uncomfortable. Eh, makes sense.

"Not much, just looking for Annabeth."

"Oh, uhh, yeah, me too."

"Okay, I mean I thought so too so..."

"Right, yeah, of course you did!"

What a weird guy.

"Okay, so you want my help?"

"Oh um, no."

I frowned. "Why not? We'd find her faster if we worked together."

He laughed uncomfortably. "Right, yeah no yeah, that makes sense..."

"Okay then. Let's go."

"Or, what if we split up? I mean, we'd cover more ground that way, right?"

"I guess that makes sense."

"Great, great, great. I'll look on the right side of the gym you look on left."

"Aight, just for the record, you are acting really weird right now?"

"I am? Uh, I guess I'm just really worried. Yeah, I'm like so worried right now about... Annabeth. Gotta go." And then he ran away.

What a weird guy.

-Line Break-

While looking for Annabeth, I ran into a very nervous looking Grover.

"Thalia, there you are! I need your help."

"What's up?"

"It's Juniper. She uh, she invited me back to her place."

My eyes widened. Well. Did not expect that. "Oh, wow. That's great news!"

He bit his lip. "I know! I know! It's gonna be our first time together actually. It's just..."

"What? What's the matter?"

"I uhh.. I don't...I didn't... "

"You don't what?"

"I don't have... protection." He whispered the last part.

I frowned. "Protection? What are you... Oh. OH."

By now Grover's face was as red as a fire truck.

"Um... Okay, yeah... I see.."

"I was wondering.. If you uh... If you... You know..." He stammered out. By now both of our faces were red.

I cleared my throat. "Um... Normally I uh, I do, but... I uhh, I wasn't expecting... So I didn't... You know... pack any uh...yeah."

"Oh, okay.. Yeah, no yeah.. That makes sense..- I'm uhh, normally I have with me but.. I uh..."

Thankfully we were both saved from this godsawful conversation by a very anxious looking Leo.

"Oh thank gods, I found you guys! Wait, why are you both so red? What happened?!"

"No reason! Nothing!" Grover and I shouted at the same time.

He looked at us weirdly. "Um, okay? You sure? Because, I have never, ever, seen you guys look like this before."

"Nothing happened!" We both yelled at the same time. Damn, we are so in sync right now!

"Uh, okay then. No time for this interrogation, guys we have to find Annabeth!" Leo shouted.

"Why? What happened? What's wrong?!" Grover asked.

"I don't know, but Nico looked really shook up when he asked me to find you guys."

I frowned. "Nico? Annabeth-hater number 1? The guy that can hold a grudge like a son of a bitch?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, he said she needed us right now!"

"Nico Di Angelo?"

"Yes Thalia!" Leo said exasperatedly. "Nico Di Angelo."

"I'm sorry, it's just... I find that very hard to believe."

"It does seem unlikely." Grover admitted.

Leo just ran his hands through his hair. "Guys, I saw him okay? He looked really serious. He said she was in trouble, something to do with Derek."

"Derek? I just saw him. He was looking for Annabeth."

Leo's eyes widened. "Shit. Okay, we have to find the others. Look, we'll all meet up outside. There's no time."

Shit, he looked really serious.

I shared a look with Grover, and then we were off. I don't what's happening right now, but we'll find you Annie. I swear, we will find you.

"Thalia!" Someone shouted. We all turned around, and I saw Reyna run towards us. She looked worried.

"Reyna. Uh, now's not really a good time.." I told her hurriedly.

"Do you know Annabeth?" She asked us urgently.

Our eyes widened.

"How do you know Annabeth?" Leo asked her warily.

"She was my friend in San Francisco."

I really wanted to hit myself right now. San Francisco, Derek. Of course she knew Annabeth.

"What's wrong with Annabeth?" Grover asked her.

"I.. She really needs her friends right now." She told us urgently. "Please tell me you guys are her friends."

We all shared a look. What were the chances right?

"Where is she?" Leo asked her seriously.

"Outside, near the doors."

And then we were off to find Annabeth.

 **Nico's POV**

Fucking hell, where the hell was everybody?

Of course, right when I needed them, they were all scattered.

Finally, I saw Leo. He was talking to who I assumed was Khione. Man, I hate to break this up... but this was an emergency.

When I reached them, Khione slapped Leo and then proceeded to kiss him and stormed off...

I.. am not getting involved with that.

Nope. None of my business.

"Uh dude, you okay?" I asked him.

Leo looked dazed. "Uh, yeah.. I just.. I told her."

"That you are-"

"-Yup. She... took it really well actually."

I looked at her retreating form. "Yeah, looked like it."

"I don't... I don't know man, girls are really confusing"

"Ugh, yeah don't get me started... She looked more confusing than others though."

"Right? I mean, I like her, obviously, but I don't know... I'm not sure I'm actually ready for her. I'm still figuring stuff out, I don't know if I'll be able to do that _and_ figure her out."

"I'd say just wait and see what happens. Maybe she'll call you, maybe she won't."

"That.. sounds like the best idea I've ever heard!"

"I know, I'm a genius." I said smugly. Wait, what was I doing again? Oh, right! Annabeth!

"Wait shit, that's not why I'm here. Annabeth's in trouble."

Leo's eyes widened. "What? What happened? What happened?!"

"I don't know for sure... Something with Derek. Look there's no time to explain it. Just help me find the others, because she needs us."

Leo nodded his head. "Yeah, all right, all right. He didn't hit her right?"

"Fuck no. At least, he better hope not. Just help my find the rest, we'll meet up outside all right?"

"All right, all right."

We split up. One down, six left to find.

-Line Break-

I was running around the dance floor, doing my best to find everyone, when I finally saw Piper and Jason.

They seemed to be having a pretty serious looking conversation. Man, I really did not want to interrupt them, but...

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but Annabeth needs us."

"Wait, what?" Piper gasped out.

"What's the matter?" Jason asked with a frown.

I shook my head. "Look, I don't know the details, all I know is Annabeth needs us right now."

"Wait, hold up. You, Nico Di Angelo, you're telling us Annabeth needs us? Really? You?" Piper said skeptically. Fair point, I have made my views on Annabeth very clear this past few months, so their skepticism was warranted, but we did not have the time for this.

I ran my hands through my hair. "Yes, I am, okay? I know what I said about this, but the fact to the matter is, no matter what she did she's still one of my best and oldest friends. I hate what happened between her and Percy, but I also know Percy wouldn't want her to get hurt like this."

"Like what? What is happening right now?" Jason asked worriedly.

"I think Derek may be cheating on Annabeth." I confessed.

"No!" They gasped out.

"What makes you think that?!" Piper queried.

"Apparently he brought this girl, Reyna, here as his date." I explained.

"Wait, Reyna? Hispanic girl with black hair and a purple dress?" Jason asked me with this intense look.

I frowned. How'd he... "Uh, yeah, exactly. How'd you know?"

"I met her! She was talking to Thalia."

"What?!" Piper shouted.

"What the fuck is happening?!" I yelled. "How.. Why.. You know what, we do not have time right now, we have to find Annabeth and the rest. Piper, Jason you guys look for the rest, I'm gonna go find Annabeth."

And then we went our separate ways.

 **Percy's POV**

This band was amazing. They played all the right songs! I wondered where the rest of the gang was though...

"Ladies and gentlemen, our lead singer is going to take a small break. I'd like to welcome one of our new students up on the stage, Calypso Nightshade everyone." The principal announced. Everyone clapped, when this pretty caramel-haired girl walked up on the stage.

Oh my gods.

The moment she started singing, I knew.

It was her.

The girl from Ogygia.

I cannot believe it.

She was here.

She went to school with me...

How did I not know this?!

She was singing Cheap Date by Caitlyn Smith, and fuck I lost it. Her voice made forget everything. It was beautiful. Her voice was even better than I remembered.

I wasn't letting her go this time. I have to catch her attention somehow! Oh, I know!

After she was finished singing, I walked up to the principal and asked him if I could sing.

He looked surprised. "Are you sure Mr. Jackson? You didn't strike me as the... musical type."

I nodded my head. "I love singing, uh, sir. I do it all the time! Besides, the lead-singer still isn't back from his break."

The principal sighed. "Very well. But, no vulgar songs, you hear?"

I nodded my head. "Thank you sir! I promise, it'll be PG."

I asked the band if they knew the song, and lucky for me they did.

The principal introduced me and suddenly it was time for me to sing.

I gulped. I'll admit, I was having second thoughts about this... What the hell was I doing?! Sing in front of the school? For a girl? I've gone insane. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I was a bad singer, but a performer I was not.

But then I saw her in the crowd. She was looking at me intently, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach. She was absolutely beautiful, without even trying to be. I would've done anything to get her to look at me this intently for the rest of my life.

I took a deep breath and just.. started singing a cover of Radiohead's Creep (Postmodern Jukebox style), the same one she sang all those months ago. Her eyes widened. I really hope that was a good thing, because it's way too late now.

-Line Break-

After I was done singing, I lost sight of her. Shit, where'd she go?! I was frantically walking around, looking for her, when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned around and there she was. Oh my gods... What should I say? What do I do with my hands? I forgot everything I knew about to talking to girls, or people in general actually. Maybe just put my hands in my coat pocket... Yeah, that makes sense.

Her dark eyes were twice as brilliant as the stars, and all I wanted to do was trace constellations upon her skin. I never really liked brown eyes before, but suddenly her eyes were my new favorite color.

I blinked, where the hell did that come from?

"Hi, I'm sorry if this freaks you out it's just... I love the song you just sang."

She smiled at me, the kind that reached her eyes, and I wondered what it would be like to kiss her. My heart started beating faster at the thought. Oh, I was so screwed.

I smiled back. "Yeah? Thank you! I heard this one girl sing it a couple of months ago, and it's been stuck in my head ever since."

"No way... You were the guy that sang Hit the road jack!" She exclaimed.

"Guilty as charged... Hi, my name's Percy Jackson."

"Calypso Nightshade."

She stuck out her hand for a handshake, and so of course when I took out my hand from my pockets the condom had to fall out. I don't think I've ever blushed as hard as I did in that moment. Mom, dad... thanks for this.

"Uh..."

"Percy! There you are! Wait... is that a condom?" Leo shouted, Thalia and Grover close by. They were all staring at me.

"Guys! We have to... why is there a condom on the floor?" Piper yelled. Jason, Hazel and Frank followed her.

They were all staring at me, I honestly felt like I would faint right about now. Why did they have to witness the single most embarrassing moment of my life?

"Uhm, I... That's not... I just.." I tried to explain the situation to them, but the words just wouldn't leave my mouth.

Why must the fates hate me so? Seriously, all I wanted to do today is dance with a pretty girl and forget about all of the bad things in the world, just for a while.

"Never mind, explain later. Percy, Annabeth needs us." Jason announced seriously.

My eyes widened. "What? What do you mean?"

"We're not really sure, but now that we've found everyone, we gotta go. Right now." Frank answered.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, all right, fine lead the way guys."

Everyone started going, and I was about to follow them, but I remembered what I was doing before.

I turned around and she was still standing there.

I sent her what I hope was an apologetic look. "Calypso, I am so so sorry... I didn't... That condom isn't... Ugh, I don't have time to explain right now but..."

And then she put her finger on my lip to shut me up and smiled at me. "How about, you explain this, all of this, over dinner some other time?"

My face lit up. I cannot believe she would give ma chance to explain all of... this. "Deal! How about you give me your number and we can-"

"Percy, we have to go!" Jason shouted. Fuck, right... Annabeth.

"Argh, right... I'll see you around?" I asked Calypso.

"Count on it Percy."

And then I ran.

 **Nico's POV**

I followed my gut and ran through the exit, and there she was.

"Annabeth?" I asked, just to be sure.

She looked up and man did she look bad right now.

"What? Come to make fun of me?" She said with a harsh tone.

I sighed and sat beside her, because no one deserved this.

"No, Annabeth, believe it or not... I don't hate you."

"Yeah, right... You're Nico Di Angelo, you can hold a grudge better than Hades himself."

I chuckled, because she had a point. "Look, I hate what happened between you and Percy, but... I don't hate you Annabeth. You're like one of my oldest friends. Friends fight. That's all."

"I really am sorry about Percy..."

"I know Annabeth, I know. But, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"I just... I don't know how I would even start that conversation.."

"Am I hearing this right? Annabeth Chase doesn't know something?"

She shoved me playfully and said "Shut up! What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was looking for you."

"You were?"

"Yeah, I heard something from Will and I thought you might need me. Well... Us."

She frowned. "What did you hear?"

"That uh... that Derek might've come here with someone else..." I admitted. Hey, I have no idea how to sugarcoat stuff okay?

Her face fell. "Oh.. Yeah, I think so too."

"He told you? Where is he? I'm gonna beat him up!"

"No, he didn't tell me... Reyna did."

"The girl he brought as his date?"

"Uh yeah... She didn't know either.."

I put my arm around her. "I'm sorry Annabeth. I know you loved him."

"I just.. I feel so stupid right now."

"Hey, no. Don't. No one would've expected him to be a cheater."

"He isn't! Wasn't. Ugh, It's me. I turned him into one, I know I did."

I frowned. "What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Oh come on Nico, grow up. I've been such a bitch lately, no wonder he cheated! I treated him like crap, and I was in love with another guy! Who wouldn't cheat in that situation?"

Wait, she was in love with Percy? What? No, wait, off topic.

"Annabeth, there's no good excuse! If he hated that situation, he could've just broken up with you. It's as simple as that, okay? Yeah, you may not have been the uhh, best girlfriend in the world, but he could've just ended the relationship if he was unhappy. Nothing was holding him back."

"I..."

And then everyone came bursting from the door. They all turned towards us and before I knew it, we were being smushed by all of our friends.

"Guys... can't breathe." I wheezed out, so they all stood back up.

"Annabeth, we heard.." Thalia said softly.

Annabeth chuckled without humor. "Yeah, you and all the rest of the school apparently."

"You want us to beat him up?" Jason proposed, gesturing to all of us.

"Honestly, I just want to forget this all happened." Annabeth confessed. "But I'll keep your offer in mind."

"Annabeth..." Percy said, his eyes filled with tears.

I made eye-contact with everyone else, and we all decided to give them some privacy. Those two really needed to have this talk.

-Line Break-

"Oh, before I forget, here you go Grover!" Thalia exclaimed, breaking the silence from before. She gave him a… condom? Wait, what?

Grover was as red as an apple, but he still took it. What was happening right now?!

"Thanks Thalia... Uh where did you.. I mean... I thought you didn't..." He stammered out.

"I mean.. There was one on the ground, so I guess you should thank Percy." She said with a shrug.

"Uh.. Thalia... Why did you give Grover a condom?" Leo asked slowly.

"And why did you accept it?" Hazel added.

They both jumped. I guess they forgot we were here...

"Wait it's not.. I mean.. We weren't... I didn't.. It's not for..." Grover sputtered.

Thalia sighed. "Juniper invited Grover back to her place, but he didn't have a condom with him, so he asked me for one and voila."

We all blinked.

"Well.. Way to go dude!" Jason clapped Grover on the back.

"Yeah, get some!" Leo whooped.

"Why didn't you have one anyways?" Piper asked him.

"I didn't think we were gonna... You know.." Grover explained, still as red as a cherry.

"Have sex?" I added helpfully.

"Uh.. Yeah. That." Grover confessed.

"Oh, well... At least you have a condom now." Hazel said, trying to clear the air.

"Speaking of which, where did you find that condom Thalia?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "It was on the ground in front of Percy, so when we all ran I took it to give to Grover."

Wait, what?

"Why was there a condom in front of Percy anyway?" Frank wondered. We all looked at Piper, who promptly started blushing.

"Hey, don't look at me! I didn't ask him to bring one!" She shouted.

"Well someone asked him to bring one!" Leo shouted back with a grin.

"What exactly are you insinuating Valdez?" She said, her eyes narrowed.

"Guys, guys, chill." I said, getting in-between them "Percy probably always has a condom on him."

"True, he's probably trying to avoid getting blue marshmallows." Jason added. "Pretty smart of him."

"...yeah that makes sense." Leo admitted.

"Speaking of which, did you guys see the girl he was talking to?" Hazel asked.

"I did! She was really pretty!" Piper commented.

"Good for him! It's time he starts getting back out there." Thalia stated.

"True, plus she looked really nice." Grover added.

I frowned. "What girl?"

"Oh right, you weren't there!" Jason exclaimed. "When we were looking for Percy, we saw him get off the stage and talk to this caramel-haired girl."

"Caramel-haired girl?"

"Yeah, yeah, I think she was the new girl in school! What was her name again?" Leo wondered.

"It was something with a C." Piper answered.

"Cassandra?" I asked.

"No, well.. I don't think so..." Piper said. "It's on the tip of my tongue. She's Allison's friend."

"Calypso?" Hazel asked.

"Yes! That's it! Calypso! Thank you, that was gonna bug me all night!" Piper exclaimed happily.

"Never heard of her." I said.

"She looked familiar though." Leo commented. "I feel like I've seen her before."

Jason shrugged. "Maybe she's got one of those faces you know."

Leo shook his head. "No, no, I know I've seen her before... I think Percy has too... OH, I know, she was at that bar!"

"What bar?" Hazel asked.

"Ogygia." Leo answered. "We went there on our first bro's night out together."

"Ohh, yeah, when you got that drink thrown at you!" I recalled.

"...yeah, moving on, she was there! She sang, beautifully might I add, and Percy couldn't keep his eyes off of her!" Leo remembered.

"Wait, she's got a nice voice?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'd say so." Leo admitted.

"Oh, yeah then Percy's screwed."

"What? Why?" Thalia asked.

"That's like, his weakness!" Grover announced.

Jason frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know how some guys like breast, others like ass and so forth?" I asked.

They all nodded.

"Well...Percy loves voices. I don't know why, but he's a sucker for a girl with a nice voice." I explained.

Piper's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Grover nodded. "Yeah, I don't know why either."

"That... I did not expect." Hazel commented.

"Yeah, that's so random though!" Jason said.

"Kinda sweet though." Thalia admitted.

"True, it's not based on looks." Piper added.

"Did not know that was his kink." Leo commented.

"Ew, dude, don't say it like that!" Frank complained.

"What? How else am I supposed to say it?!"

"Literally any other way would've been better." I told him seriously.

He just huffed. "I don't know what you guys want from me!"

"Hey guys.. Is that.. Derek?" Hazel pointed to this guy leaving the boys' bathroom.

"Holy shit it is!" Jason shouted.

"Well what are we doing just standing here? Let's get him!" Thalia commanded.

So, we ran.

 **Percy's POV**

FLASHBACK

" _Annabeth? Do you love me?" I asked, dread in my stomach._

 _She bit her lip. "I..."_

" _Annabeth? Babe? What are you doing here?" Of course Derek would show up_ _ **now**_ _. In his car. Why not? It's not like the fates loved me or anything, of course this would happen._

" _Derek I..."_

 _He squinted. "Is that Percy? Hey dude, what's up?" He parked his car and got out._

 _I forced out a smile. "Hey..dude. Not much, not much..."_

 _He nodded. "Cool, cool. Babe, what are you doing here at this hour, with him?"_

" _I... I was just..." Annabeth stammered out._

" _What were you doing anyway?" I asked him instead._

 _He looked surprised. "Oh, uh... I was just... You know, going out for a late-night drive.. Clear my head.."_

 _I frowned. "What?"_

" _Yeah, people go on those!" He insisted. He then turned towards Annabeth. "Never mind that, since we're here anyway, wanna go back to my place?" He held out his arm._

 _Don't take it Annabeth, please don't._

 _She sent me an apologetic look._

 _No._

 _No, no._

 _This can't be happening, this cannot be happening right now. I can't let this happen._

" _Annabeth..." I whispered, my eyes pleading her to stay, here, with me. Just for a little longer. "Don't.. Don't go.. Please?"_

" _Percy... He's my boyfriend." She tried to explain, but I could see the tears in her eyes._

" _But do you love him?"_

" _I..."_

" _Annabeth, babe, what's the hold up? Let's go!" He shouted from his car._

" _I'm really sorry Percy..." She told me earnestly._

 _And then she left._

 _She left._

END FLASHBACK

I shook my head.

Some days, I liked to imagine she would have said yes. Because then... We'd be together. I'd get to take her out on dates, or we could just have a night-in and watch movies together. I could cook for her, she could tell me all about her dreams and it'd be perfect. I would be happy. There would be hope. Because if she said yes, if she was in love with me, there's a chance she and I could be together in the end.

Most days though, I need to believe she would have said no, because otherwise those what-ifs would bury me. Because otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten in that car with him. She wouldn't have left me. And she definitely would have called, texted, anything. She would have made the effort.

I guess that doesn't matter now though, because she was sad right now and all I wanted to do was make her happy.

That's all I've ever wanted.

Insanity was defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well, if there's one thing I've learned these past two months, it's that I was doing being insane. I'm done hoping me and Annabeth will end up together somehow. I couldn't do it anymore.

I think... Maybe we were meant to be, but we did it wrong.

I sat beside her, put my arm around her and said "To be honest with you, I don't really have the words to make you feel better Annabeth, but... I do have these arms to give you a hug, a pair of ears to listen to whatever you want to talk about, and I have a heart. A heart that's dying to see you smile again."

She laid her head on my shoulder and she smiled, a small one. The kind that if you blinked, you'd have missed it.

"I'm so sorry Percy. For everything." she confessed.

I rest my head on hers and took a deep breath. "Don't be. It's probably for the best."

She got mad. She took her head off my shoulder and looked me straight in the eyes with a glare so intense. "Why Percy? Why would you put yourself through that?! Why didn't you **say** anything?!"

"Because...!" I shouted.

"Because what Percy?"

I sighed and looked up at the moon. "Because Annabeth... I'd rather break my own heart than yours!"

"..."

"You were so happy Annabeth; how could I take that away from you? If I told you back then... It would have ruined everything."

She shook her head. "No, it wouldn't have!"

"Yes it would!" I insisted.

"Why? Why do you think that?!"

"Because why would you choose him over me? Huh?"

"I would've.."

I looked her in the eyes. "What? So, you're telling me if I told you I was in love with you before that godsawful ultimatum, you would've left him for me?"

"I..."

I looked back up and chuckled. "Yeah. Exactly. If I told you sooner, we probably wouldn't have stayed friends. Not like that helped much, we still ended up not being friends anyway."

"Percy, if there's one thing I've learned these past two months, it's that I need you in my life, okay? These were the worst two months of my life, and I regret walking away from you!"

"Yeah, right. You're only saying that now because Derek cheated on you!" The moment I said those words, I wanted to take them back. I really did, because the look on her face would haunt me. It looked like I slapped her. "Shit Annabeth, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!"

She shook her head, and for the first time tonight, I saw tears in her eyes. "You really think that? I've been miserable without you Percy! I wanted to call, text, email you, but... I couldn't... What if you hated me? What if you didn't answer? I couldn't bear the thought of you hating me so.. I tried to act like everything was okay. But they weren't. Fuck I don't even care about Derek cheating on me right now, not if I can get you back as my friend Percy!"

"Annabeth... I could never hate you. Never."

"But... I hurt you!"

I shrugged. "It's impossible to find someone who'll never hurt you Annabeth... But you're worth the pain, all of it."

She buried her head in my shoulder. "I don't deserve you, you know that right?"

I chuckled. "Just keep being you Wise Girl, and we'll be fine."

"You're too soft sometimes Seaweed Brain."

"Eh, guess you'll have to be around to make me hard then..."

"..."

"Wait, that came out wrong."

She laughed, and I was happy I could make someone so beautiful smile so much at a moment like this.

"Seaweed Brain." She said fondly.

I grinned at her, my famous crooked one and said, "I think we'll be just fine Wise Girl."

"As long as we're together Seaweed Brain."

"You got it Wise Girl, as long as we're together."

 **Thalia's POV**

He almost escaped.

We were running after him, and I had to admit, he was pretty damn fast. If it weren't for Frank, he probably would have escaped.

He was out of the door, when Frank tackled him.

We all caught up, and Frank grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him against the wall.

"You've got some questions to answer buddy." Nico told him seriously. Behind him, we were all glaring at Derek, Piper and I were even cracking our knuckles. You know, to create a menacing vibe.

"Uh.. Hey guys.. What's uh, what's up?" He said with an uncomfortable smile.

"Really? That's what you're going with?" Hazel said incredulously.

"Guys, leave him alone." Someone said behind us.

"No way! Mind you own..-" Jason started, until he saw who it was.

We all turned around and saw Annabeth and Percy.

"He's not worth it." Annabeth told us.

Nico looked back and forth. "What? But... He hurt you! He cheated on you!"

Annabeth shook her head. "It's fine. Really. I've got all that matters to me right here." She looked at all of us with a smile and lastly at Percy. Aw. Damn, I really wanted to beat him up though.

"But.. Annabeth... can't we beat him up a little?" Leo asked her with a puppy dog stare.

"Yeah, just a little?" I added.

"Please?" Piper added.

Annabeth sighed. "Sorry guys... No can do. Now, please let him go."

Frank looked back and forth between Annabeth and Derek before sighing and letting him go.

"Oh my gods Annabeth, thank you!" Derek told her.

"Just.. Go Derek." She commanded him, pointing towards the school. "Before I change my mind."

He gained a look of panic before promptly running away, back into the school.

"Why'd you do that?!" I shouted at her, because what the fuck.

"Oh, come on Thals, he's not worth it." She tried to comfort me.

"I do not get you Annabeth." Nico commented.

"Yeah, we had him!" Leo complained.

"He was right there!" Jason shouted.

"Guys, chill. You know I always have a plan, right?" She said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"What? What's your plan?" Hazel asked her.

"Yeah, what could you have possibly planned that's worse than a beating from us?" Piper added.

"Well, he just ran back into the school right?"

"Uh, yeah." Frank answered.

"What about it?" Grover asked.

"Guess who's inside the school too?" she asked.

"I don't know.. The principal?" Jason guessed.

"No! Well.. Yes, but someone else. An old friend of mine, who does boxing, karate and tae kwan do." She said.

I frowned. Old friend of hers? Oh wait...

"You mean Reyna?" Nico asked.

She blinked. "Yes! Wait… How do you know Reyna?"

"I don't, well, not personally. I saw her dance with Will."

"Who's Will?" I asked.

At the same time Jason said. "Wait, Reyna, as in the girl Thalia was talking with?"

"Oh Reyna!" Leo and Grover exclaimed.

"You guys know Reyna?" Nico asked me.

"What about Will?"

"Oh my gods, Reyna is here?!" Percy exclaimed.

"Okay, can everyone please shut up, I cannot follow right now!" Piper shouted. Frank and Hazel nodded.

"Yeah, who is Reyna?" Hazel asked.

"And how does everyone but us know her?" Frank added.

"It's... A long story." I admitted, everyone else making sounds of agreement.

"Well, we've got all the time of the world." Piper answered. "Summer's just about to start."

"Oh, speaking of summer, we should go on a road trip!" Nico proposed.

"That's a great idea! I love it!" Grover commented.

"Thanks, we thought of it." I told him.

"Yeah, I think we could all use some time away from New York." Percy admitted.

"True that Seaweed Brain." Annabeth agreed.

"Well I'd be down for a road trip." Frank admitted.

"Ooh, we could go to New Orleans!" Hazel proposed.

Jason shrugged. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind trying Gumbo."

"Ooh, imagine the Jazz music over there!" Piper said excitedly.

"I could practice my French!" Leo exclaimed.

"No!" We all shouted.

Leo pouted.

"Actually... Grover, what are you still doing here?" Jason asked him suddenly.

Grover frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh yeah, didn't Juniper invite you back to her place?" I reminded him.

His eyes widened. "Oh.. OH crap!" And then he was off to find Juniper. God's speed buddy, god's speed.

We all laughed.

"We should all probably go home though." Nico admitted.

"Then again.. The night's still young. Hang out at Percy?" Piper proposed.

"That's a great idea!" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm down for that." Jason agreed.

"Ooh, we can watch Kingdom." Hazel proposed.

"I heard that was scary." Frank told her worriedly.

"Eh, it's fine as long as we're all together." Annabeth told her.

"Wait, guys! I didn't agree to this!" Percy shouted, but it fell on deaf ears. "Guys! My parents are home!"

"Hey, you got to meet my mom!" Piper told him.

"That's different, my mom is worse than yours! She'll show you guys all of my baby pictures. Wait, I should not have said that."

"No, you shouldn't have." I told him with a smirk.

"Race to Percy's house!" Leo shouted.

And we were off.

* * *

 **Ooh boy.. One thing's for sure... Next year is gonna be hella interesting for them. Sorry this didn't come out on Friday, I've kept on rewriting this chapter, just because I wanted it to be amazing you know? This is like, the finale of the first part of the story, and I wanted it to blow everyone away. I'm still not really all that satisfied with this version to be honest, but I couldn't make you guys wait any longer either. I will probably change stuff in the future, but, to be fair, I am planning to rework this story anyways when it's done. And then, you know, work on my other stories because I'm actually excited bout them (the one already on here and the one I want to start). But, I'm getting ahead of myself.**

 **Calypso, Will, Reyna... Man I don't know what I'm gonna do now that I've introduced all of them lol. Seriously, I don't know when the next chapter will be out, because I have to make an outline for their senior year. So, I'm really, really, sorry you guys but I probably won't be posting a new chapter this upcoming week, what with classes starting and me not knowing what to do for senior year of the story. You see, most of my ideas really were for their junior year, I barely have anything for their senior year. And while, yes I do improvise a lot of these chapters, I usually had an idea already you know. Something that I wanted to happen in the chapter. Or something I knew has to happen somehow. Right now, I'm drawing a blank, so I'm gonna be spending this week brainstorming ideas for this story, so that I don't suddenly run out of inspiration or something. I'll probably have a chapter out the week after though, and by then I will have an updating schedule going, so yay!**

 **I also have to decide wether or not I'm gonna be writing about their road trip. I'm mostly leaning towards not, just because... Well.. I really do not know America well enough to write a road trip arc about it. I barely know any states or cities, let alone the things you can do in them and how to get there. I'll probably just get started on their senior years and who knows, have flashbacks from the road trip.**

 **Oh yeah, before I forget: I am aware that not everyone checks their emails religiously like I do, so if you've got a Wattpad account that you do check every day, I posted this story on there too. If that's more convenient for you, then you can just read that story there, honestly it doesn't matter to me where you read it (as long as you read it lol). For real tho if that is easier for you, just go on and read it there. If you check, there are less chapters, but that's just cause I merged some chapters together. I haven't changed anything yet so don't worry.**

 **Now onto the reviews:**

 **To NONAME2002: Aww come on dude, they at least got a kiss! That's more than what Annabeth and Percy have had. Granted, that's also less than what Percy and Rachel had, but uhh let's not focus on that..**

 **To SonOfHades1: No, it is not bad. To be honest I kinda want em to date too, which was a surprise to me. Honestly, I wasn't expecting them to be so.. cute together! Now, when I reread their scenes together, I feel myself going Aw! Did not expect that when I started this story, I'll tell you that!**

 **To Anna: Thanks for all of your help dude! Hope this is more convenient for you ;)**

 **To Freakofnature65: Careful there dude, I just might ;) Lol, nah we'll see what the endgame is. Obviously, I won't be able to make everyone happy, but I should at least try. Frankly, I'm a big fan of most ships, and that might be kind of obvious in this story. I dunno, I just... I read a lot of fanfics, and the story is amazing, but I hate how the endgame is so obvious. Like, I know that's not the focus of the story (most of the time) but I just sometimes wish the writes would make us guess a little you know?**

 **To RoyalFox89: Aw come on! Percy and Piper aren't _that_ bad together! They could be a really cute friends-to-lover kind of story, well, I think so at least. As for your advice, thanks dude! I tried to incorporate it into the story, so I really appreciate it! I love it when you guys give me ideas/advice. It's nice :)**

 **To Starbreaker195: Glad I could surprise you ;) As for Nico, yeah.. He's uh.. He's figuring some stuff out, obviously. As for Derek.. Come on, you guys didn't really think he'd stick around right? He isn't a canon character, so the chances of him being Annabeth's endgame was slim. I feel bad for the way Annabeth treated him, and rereading my older chapters does not fail to give me the cringe. This was my plan all along, but as for the execution.. It could've used some work.**

 **And yeah, the bit with Leo was... Hard to say the least. I read a headcanon somewhere about the possibility of Leo being asexual and it just stuck with me! So, I though, why not? It's not like it's _that_ farfetched of an idea with his character. Writing about that will be a struggle though, cause I'm not all that knowledgeable on the subject, but I'll do my very best to represent asexual people. I always thought Percy and Piper's shipname was Pipercy tbh. Never heard of Pepper, but I kind of like it lol. They're still young, they've got a lifetime to figure out wether or not they're meant to be ;) **

**As for Jason, to be honest, I didn't write it out like that in the first draft. I put the groundwork already in the past chapters, with Jason being passively against Percy and Piper. My original idea for the last chapter was Percy and Piper dating, and Jason being jealous about it, and it all blowing up in prom. But then it wouldn't make sense, because Percy couldn't have moved on from Annabeth that quickly and so... Voila. Chapter 44 was born.**

 **Glad to know the last chapter didn't make you want to grab you pitchfork and threaten me... I guess we're all growing up together. It's nice!**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Yeah, I think it was about time you know. I really haven't been focusing all that much on typical teenager themes and really more on their relationships, but hey better late than never I guess.**

 **I haven't really seen any clubs, but I'll keep looking. Honestly, I'm glad I still have my old friends, but sometimes I worry they'll get bored of me or something. I know, I know, that probably won't happen, but it could and I don't know what I'd do if that happened.**

 **What are you studying? Also, what do you do for work?  
**

 **To MasterTrident: I mean, I could've been crueler... I think there's just bad and somewhat sexist connotations around the word friend zone these days. I totally agree with you on everything you said. I guess it just sucks when people think being friends is either a temporary state between having sex and not having sex, or a second place prize that they have to settle for, and that's mainly these 'nice guys' which is a problem in itself. To be honest, I do think the friend zone exists too sort of, but only because there is no clear communication, and manipulation. A guy in the friend zone can communicate to the woman that he likes her more as a friend, and if she makes it clear that she doesn't like him, they can both move on and you know, have an actual friend _ship_. When there's a feeling of slighted on either one of the parties, then you're not in the friend zone, you're just not friends. Because friends are there for each other, they want the other person to be happy and they want what's best for also want those same things for yourself, which means you support healthy boundaries for the friendship as a whole. This means you can have friends you're attracted to, or interested in, and respect the fact that it may never turn romantic. You can also be clear about the fact that you're not attracted to someone, and only want to be friends, without the friendship self-imploding. I dunno, that's just my two cents on the matter. I mean, I have more to say and we can get into it, but I won't bore you with that any more. Bottom line: Relationships, any kind, can get real messy, real fast if you don't communicate properly.**

 **To rkimberly90: Hey, never say never dude, never say never. Honestly, with the way this story's going that is a big possibility Not ArtemisxPercy though. Don't get me wrong I LOVE that pairing, but... It just wouldn't be possible in this story. I mean.. I could try? But, I really don't know how I'd pull that off lol. Percy and Annabeth have a long road to follow if they wanna be each other's SO's. It's definitely a possibility, but for now they're just friends. Barely friends, but you know, there's a road trip coming so I'm sure they'll work it out ;D Never thought of LeoxWill though... Interesting. I appreciate you reading my story ;) Seriously, thank you for that!  
**

 **To Pregnantnun227: Hey, at least it pays off in the end! Well, I always hope so anyways. I'm not sure what to do with Reyna to be perfectly honest. Granted Leo being asexual wasn't something I hinted at per se, but yeah the aunt thing... The gang is always at Percy, so I probably should have written a scene with them addressing the fact that they're** **home lives aren't the greatest. After all, they consider each other as family, as stated by Thalia, so I should have elaborated on that matter. Annabeth and Percy will get their chance don't you worry, after all a lot can happen in a year ;) To be honest the thing with Piper and Percy wasn't my original plan. In the first draft, they would have been dating for those two months before prom, and then break up because Jason was _not_ okay with it at all, but then the thing with Annabeth happened, and it just didn't make sense for Percy to move on that quickly with Piper. And even less with Piper being okay with being his second choice. Who knows, maybe I should've gone with my original idea? I constantly think about that whenever I rewrite a chapter... As for me, I am in good health, thanks for asking. I'll be taking this week off to brainstorm about what I want to do with this story, so there's that. Also partly to get used to classes again, not gonna lie. I'll have a regular update schedule by the end of the week, probably. If I'm feeling extra inspired, I might post a chapter this week, but that seems doubtful, so I wouldn't count on it. Thanks for the threats, always enjoy receiving them. Brings up a bout of nostalgia.**

 **To Riptide013: Aw come one, it's not the worst cliff hanger in this story. Although, I have been getting better at them, I think. Compared to earlier chapters these cliff hangers are a lot more... Cliff hangerier? I dunno the proper terminology lol. And yeah, that was a dumb thing to say lol. Cliff hangers will always always always be both the worst and best thing of a story I guess. Sorry Nico didn't get to beat Derek up though :( To be honest, I dunno hw to write a scene like that, and to be fair, Derek was not treated kindly in this story so yeah.. Percy and Piper are cute together, right?! I don't have any plans for the at the moment, so sorry for that :( SHIT WILL ALWAYS BE GOING DOWN! Lol, nah, I've always been meaning to introduce them, and it was always gonna be in these 2 chapters. Ever since I started this story ;)**

 **Few, that's all of em! Please do tell me what you guys thought of this chapter, I would love to know! Also, if you have any suggestions for their senior year, you know things you want to say and things you definitely do NOT want to see, let me know! I appreciate the reviews, they really do motivate me to do better, so uhh, keep em coming I'd say ;)**

 **A big thanks to all of the people that have reviewed, are reviewing or are planning on reviewing, you guys deserve all of the blue chocolate chip cookies in the world. It is now, pretty late where I am, so with this I bid you guys adieu and I hope you all take care!**

 **Joy**


	46. Vacation: Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the characters, Rick Riordan does.**

 **Nico's POV**

"Nico Di Angelo! You better be finished with packing, because we have to meet the others in 10 minutes!" Hazel shouted.

I groaned. I was nowhere _near_ finished packing! I mean, what was I supposed to bring?! After a lot of planning and discussing, we have decided not to do a road trip. Instead we'll just go on a vacation together.

Which, of course, led to another discussion about where we were gonna go. After even more planning and discussing, we _finally_ decided to go to Europe, more specifically the South of France and I had no idea what I would need. Probably not a winter jacket. Right? It's Europe though... Maybe it'll snow? When it's summer here, it's winter there, right? I mean, that makes sense to me.

She came up and gasped when she saw my very much empty suitcase.

"Nico! We are _literally_ leaving in 10 minutes!"

"I'm sorry!" I cried out. "I just...What the hell am I supposed to bring?!"

She sighed and face palmed. "I'll help you. It's summer, so it's gonna be hot there. For the love of gods let go of that winter jacket!"

"Right, yeah okay, that makes sense."

"And those mittens."

"...okay, what else?"

"...do you really need to bring those ski goggles? I mean seriously, we are going to be staying near a beach!"

"Okay... I see your point."

She sighed again. "I've got my work cut out for me..."

"Sorry..."

"Just.. Let's get started, we have to be done in 10 minutes."

"Roger dodger!"

"..."

"I am so sorry."

She just smiled at me fondly. "Let's just get to work big brother. The others are expecting us soon."

-Line Break-

"I can't believe it. You did it. You actually did it." I said in awe at Hazel's packing skills.

She smirked. "I know. I'm amazing."

We got out of the car at Percy's, our meeting place. We were the last ones to arrive, but hey, we made it with a minute to spare.

"You're late." Annabeth deadpanned.

"Say what?" I looked at my watch. Oh wow, yeah, we were late. "By like three seconds!"

"Three seconds, or three hours... Late is late!"

"Are you quoting American Dragon?" Thalia asked

She blushed. "What? No!"

Leo and Piper came along. "Yeah, I think you are!" Leo exclaimed.

"You totally were Annabeth! You were quoting the grandpa!" Piper agreed.

"Yes! Exactly!" Leo shouted.

"That was like in the first episode, right?" Thalia wondered.

"Right! With his dragon training, where he had to do all of those tasks." Piper recalled.

"Yes! He met Rose in that episode!" Leo added.

Percy perked. "Oh my gods, I shipped Jake and Rose so hard!"

"Duh, everyone did!" Piper gushed.

Annabeth face palmed. "Guys, we are getting way off topic here! We're supposed to leave! For our vacation!" She reminded us.

"Also... Jake and Rose were goals." She admitted.

"Gods, I had the biggest crush on Jake as a kid." Thalia admitted.

I blinked. "Really? Jake?"

"Uh, yeah. Jake was hot." Thalia admitted.

"He was a dragon. They're always hot." I deadpanned.

"Yeah, but Jake was hot, with a capital H-O-T!" Piper gushed.

I scowled. "I don't see it."

"Ehh, I kind of get it." Percy admitted.

We all stared at him.

"What? He was confident."

"True, true." Jason agreed. "He was the mac daddy of NYC."

"Guys, we uh... we got way off topic." Grover announced. "Don't we have a flight to catch?"

All of our eyes widened.

"Crap." Jason cursed. "Crap, crap, crap!

"We gotta go!" Hazel shouted. "Oh my gods, what if we miss the flight?!"

"Crap!"

"Everyone get in the car!" Thalia commanded. "We have a flight to catch."

-Line Break-

"Well... At least we didn't miss our flight.." Grover muttered.

"It's been delayed." Thalia deadpanned.

"But... we didn't miss it." Frank tried.

"By three hours!" Thalia exploded.

"It's not ideal..." Percy admitted.

"But it's better than nothing!" I finished. "Come on guys! In just a couple of hours we'll be in Nice! The South of _France_!"

"Yeah! Nico's right! So what if we have to wait three hours more? We're gonna go to FRANCE!" Leo whooped.

"Imagine the beach..." Percy gasped out.

"Percy, dude... Surfing." Piper deadpanned.

Percy's eyes widened. "Yes... YES! We have to go surfing! And sailing!"

"Ooh and parasailing!" Piper added.

"Think of all the parks and nature!" Grover gushed.

"Oh my gods, imagine the babes!" Jason exclaimed.

"The art museums!" Hazel gushed.

"The history of the place!" Frank added.

"The architecture!" Annabeth said dreamily.

"The food!" Leo shouted. "Nice is gonna be so niice!"

I grinned. "See? This vacation's gonna be awesome and definitely worth the wait!"

Thalia smiled reluctantly. "Fine, fine... You guys convinced me..."

"Trust me Thals, this vacation's gonna our lives. It's gonna change _everything."_

I did not know how right I would be…

 **Percy's POV**

My alarm went off, and I groaned. Hey no, don't get me wrong, I was stoked for today! I was gonna leave for a vacation with my best friends in the whole world, who wouldn't be stoked about that?!

It's just...

Annabeth.

Annabeth was gonna be there.

I stared at the ceiling, letting my thoughts consume me. I know I said I could never hate her, and I meant it, it's just... Ugh, I don't even know. She hurt me when she left that night at the park. She broke my heart so many times, I lost count.

How could I forgive her for that?

How..

How does one even start forgiving someone for breaking their heart?

Could I even forgive her?

Did I want to forgive her?

When did it all get this complicated? Before, in San Francisco, I always figured the moment I fell in love with a girl, that'd be it. The hard part was over. You fall in love, and that's it. Happily ever after.

Now I know that's not all you need. Timing plays a huge part in it all.

I sighed, and decided it was time to get up. I won't be getting any answers to my questions any time soon anyway.

-Line Break-

Man, I really wish I didn't pack the day before! I didn't have anything to do to keep my mind of off Annabeth, and the others wouldn't be arriving any time soon.

I groaned.

"What's wrong son?" My dad asked with a concerned frown.

"Oh, hey dad, I didn't notice you."

"I've been sitting here reading the paper for 30 minutes!"

"Oh... Really?"

"...no."

"Thought so, that didn't sound like you dad."

He rolled his eyes fondly. "Ha ha, very funny. You're not getting away that easily though. What's wrong? Is it about your mom and me going on a cruise?"

I blinked. "What? No! You guys earned that cruise! You guys have been working your butts off all year long!"

"Then what is it? Is it about a girl?"

"..."

"Right, I should've known, it's almost always about a girl."

I sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

He chuckled. "Let's just say I was young too once upon a time and leave it at that. So, what's the matter? You like a girl who doesn't like you back?"

I shook my head. "I wish it was that easy! No.. I... I don't know how to explain it."

"Try me, maybe I'll be able to give you some advice. Who knows, maybe I went through the same thing when I was you age."

"Okay.. Well... There's this girl, and she... She broke my heart."

My dad frowned, stood up and sat beside me on the couch. "What happened?"

"Well.. I.. I told her I loved her, and then.. She chose another guy."

My dad put his arm around me. "Son... I'm so sorry that happened to you. But, if she chose another guy over **you** , then she must be insane! Seriously, anyone willing to choose a guy over you must be. You're amazing!"

I looked away. "Dad, you have to say that! I'm your son."

He chuckled. "Trust me Percy, I'd be telling you this even if you weren't my son."

I looked at him weirdly. "You'd tell some random kid he's amazing? That sounds... Kind of creepy, no offense."

He grinned. "Hey, if that kid was as dynamite as you, then hell yeah I'd tell him that."

I shook my head but smiled anyway. "Thanks dad... That was... weirdly touching."

He winked. "My signature move."

I chuckled. "Mom's a lucky girl."

"Don't she know it! Look, Percy. I'm not gonna lie to you. You're probably gonna get your heart broken a couple of times before getting that happily ever after, but when you find the one... It'll blow your mind. Seriously, all those other girls won't even matter anymore. Hell, I forgot about all of the girls that broke my heart the moment I met your mother! And when she proposed to me? I couldn't wait to spend the rest of my life with her!"

" _Mom_ proposed to you? You didn't propose to her?"

He grinned. "Yup. She knew what she wanted, and she went for it."

I blinked. "Really? You didn't think it was... I dunno, kind of weird?"

He shrugged. "I mean, I thought about proposing to her myself, but she beat me to the punch. I know, I know, it's not something people do often, but I kind of liked the fact that she proposed to me. It was oddly fitting and _very_ flattering. Your mother always was full of surprises."

"That's... Actually, really sweet."

He winked. "You know it!"

I frowned. "But.. How do you know you want to spend the rest of your life with someone?"

"You just know."

I shot him a deadpan look, because seriously? Could he be any vaguer about it?

"I don't.. I can't put it into words.."

"Try!" I exploded. "There are a lot of words out there dad, just... Pick some of them."

"All right, all right, I'll do my best. Well, when she proposed to me... Everything inside of me just said.. _**Yes**_. I just looked at her. You know, I just had this feeling that I was... Home."

"That is very beautiful dad...and very very vague and not helpful at all.."

He chuckled and clapped me on the back. "Look son, wait for the girl that makes you realize that home is not a place, but a feeling. When you have that well... Nothing and no one else will ever compare."

I sighed. "But dad... The world is such a big place! How do I even know I'll meet her?"

He smiled at me. "You just have to believe son. I like to think that at one point in your life you will meet her, and when you do, you'll know. Maybe not directly, but you will eventually. You just have to be patient. Everything else will work itself out."

I groaned. "Thanks dad but.. How will that help me now?"

"I'd say, just enjoy this vacation with your friends, and use it to forget about her."

"She's coming with."

"What?!"

"Uh.. Yeah, did I forget to mention she'll be coming with?"

"Uh, yes, yes you did! Damn son, why on earth is she coming with?!"

"She uhh... She happens to be one of my best friends."

He shook his head incredulously. "Man, you are not making this easy for yourself."

"Don't I know it. What do I do?"

"I...got nothing. Sorry son, I have never been in _that_ situation before."

I sighed. "Of course you haven't, no one in their right mind would ever be."

"Well, when I find myself thinking about things I really do not want to be thinking about, I find it helps just to go out for a walk."

"A walk?"

"Yeah, to clear my mind. You'd be surprised with what a simple walk could do for you."

I nodded. "A walk.. Yeah, I guess I could use one of those right about now. I do have an hour to kill until the others get here."

"Good man! Be back in time though, your mother would flip if you left without saying goodbye."

I chuckled. "Yeah, she'd probably find a way to delay the plane till I said goodbye."

"She's a feisty one, that's for sure. Damn, I'm a lucky guy!"

"Yeah, she's pretty lucky too dad."

He smiled at me and winked. "Thanks Percy! I let her know that every day."

I wrinkled my nose. "Gross, I don't want to know."

"What? Oh, grow up. I wasn't talking about sex! Although I do-"

"La la la la, can't hear you!" I shouted, because no. Just. No. I do not want to hear about what they do as a married couple. I grabbed my jacket. "I'm gonna go before you finish that sentence."

"Oh come on Percy! Sex is a beautiful-"

"Bye dad!" I yelled to interrupt him.

I shuddered. Man, what was a close one. I almost had to hear about my parents' sex life. Again.

Where should I go?

Eh, I guess the park.

-Line Break-

Why on earth did I go to the park?! That was a horrible idea! Everywhere I went, I was reminded of Annabeth. Gods, the park was just filled with bad memories of her. Even worse though... I was strolling in the park when I saw...

Derek.

The fates really do hate me. This was the proof. It had to be.

He was sitting on the same bench I sat the day Annabeth walked out of my life. He looked.. bad. I guess Reyna really did a number on him. His right arm was in a sling, and his face looked pretty bruised still, a week later.

I could just walk away, go home. Act like I never saw him and forget about it. But... Something's been bugging me ever since I found out Derek cheated on Annabeth. This could be my only chance to get an explanation...

I sighed. Godsdammit, maybe I was a masochist, because instead of going home, you know the logical thing, I actually went over and sat beside him.

He stiffened. "Uh... Hey Perce..."

"Hey Derek."

"You didn't come here to beat me up too right?"

I looked him in the eyes. "No, I think Reyna did that pretty well... "

He chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah... It was... Terrifying to say the least. I did deserve it though."

"I mean... Yeah... you kind of did. I just have to know though, why? Why on earth would you _cheat_ on Annabeth?"

He sighed. "Look... There's no.. There's no logical explanation for my actions. I am really sorry though. For everything. _Especially_ for making her end her friendship with you. That really wasn't cool of me."

I frowned. "It's... It's fine dude. You probably have your reasons, I guess. I just want to know, why?"

He sighed. "I... You know when she left San Francisco, all I ever wanted was to be with her again. That was my dream. Our relationship was just so.. Perfect. How could I not want it back? And then I fell for Reyna, which honestly surprised me. It wasn't a perfect relationship like I had with Annabeth, but it was... real. So, when I left for New York, it sucked _so_ hard because things between me and Reyna were great! It broke my heart, but then I remembered Annabeth. Annabeth was in New York, and suddenly my dream could come true!"

"Right... and?"

"And, for a while it seemed like it did. I mean, I was with Annabeth and I thought I was happy. It may not have been the _perfect_ relationship I envisioned, but that didn't matter when I was with Annabeth. Or, at least, that's what I thought. But... This Annabeth... She wasn't what I remembered. She wasn't the same Annabeth from my mind. Maybe that Annabeth never existed. Maybe... Maybe the relationship in my head never existed. And that pissed me off, because this was my dream and I should've been _happy_ , but I wasn't. I thought maybe... Maybe it was because of you."

I blinked. "What? What did I do?"

He shook his head. "Nothing! I just... I guess I was a little bit insecure when it came to your friendship with Annabeth, mostly in the beginning. After that, I was cool with it, but then.. I dunno, our relationship didn't go smoothly like in my head and I didn't understand why! I mean, she was the girl of my dreams, I was the guy of her dreams. So why wasn't it perfect?! Why weren't we happy?! I... kind of went in a dark path, and I thought maybe... Maybe it was because of you."

"Me?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I remembered you telling me you were in love with a girl that one time... I thought maybe..."

I started feeling uncomfortable, because uhh well.. He kind of had a point, I was in love with Annabeth.

"Uh.. well..."

His eyes widened. "Wait, really?"

I did not make eye contact with him.

"Oh."

"Yeah... sorry man, if it helps it was before I knew you guys were together. We never did anything, I swear!"

For a second, he looked pissed, but then he deflated just as quickly. "Honestly dude, it's fine. Things were even worse after she ended her friendship with you... I finally realized something. Well, two things actually."

"What?"

"One, I don't... I don't think I was in love with Annabeth."

"WHAT?!"

"I just.. I realized why it may not have been working out great with Annabeth.. I thought love was all about grand gestures, red roses and expensive dinners. I thought love would be like in the movies you know? But then I remembered my relationship with Reyna, and I finally realized, love isn't pretty and romantic. It's about stupid fights and memorable make ups. It's giving her half of your fries when she said she wasn't hungry. Love is just stumbling through life with your best friend. And Annabeth.. well she wasn't my best friend. And I definitely wasn't hers either."

I frowned. "But.. Why on earth didn't you break up with her before starting anything with Reyna?"

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I... Ugh, it's gonna sound stupid but... I put in so much time into this relationship you know? I thought about it all the time, it was my _dream_! How could I just throw it all away as if it meant nothing? But... then Reyna told me she was coming to New York, and I was so happy... It felt like going back home and... I should've just told Annabeth. I fucked up. Not just with Annabeth but.. Also with Reyna. Gods..."

And it was quiet for a while. I mean, what could I say? I didn't know the right words to make him feel better, and I really didn't think he'd want a hug from me. After a while though, he spoke up.

"I'm really sorry Percy."

I wanted to say something, anything, but what? I don't hate the guy, but I don't know... I don't think I forgive him either. Then again... If the tables were turned... Would I have asked Annabeth to end her friendship with a guy if I was uncomfortable with it?

I sighed. "It's... It's fine dude... What was your second realization?"

"Oh, that Annabeth was-..." He started, but suddenly he stilled.

I frowned. "Uh... that Annabeth was what?"

He shook his head. "I... I can't tell you Perce, it's really not my place to... I fucked up already, I'm not gonna make things worse." He had this indescribable look in his eyes.

"But-"

He stood up. "I should go, before I say something I shouldn't. Just.. Talk to Annabeth dude."

And then he ran away, leaving me more confused than ever.

-Line Break-

When I got back, my parents were already putting their suitcases in the taxi.

"Oh my gods, there you are!" My mom cried out before enveloping me in a bone crushing hug.

I chuckled but hugged her back just as hard. "Sorry mom, I kind of lost track of time!"

"It's fine Percy, I'm just really glad I got to see you before we left!" She answered back.

My dad came over and joined in on the hug, trapping me in their hug sandwich.

"Guys... can't breathe.." I wheezed out.

Finally, they let me go.

My mom was looking at me with tears in her eyes.

"Woah, mom, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

She shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing Percy, I'm just... You're all grown up! You're about to go on a vacation without any adults!"

"Well... I mean Thalia is technically an adult..." I reasoned.

My dad ruffled my hair fondly. "You know what she means son."

I grinned. "Guys don't worry! I'm not gonna get into any trouble, I swear!"

She shook her head but smiled fondly. "Percy... You and I both know trouble has a way of finding you..."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Yeah.. You do have a point."

"Besides, I'm your mother, I'm always going to worry about you."

"Fair enough, but trust me mom, I'll do my best to avoid trouble."

She sighed but gained a soft look. "That's really all I can ask for. Just... Promise me you'll take care of yourself, okay Percy? Sometimes, you have to put yourself first."

She shared a look with my dad, and I knew that he told her what I told him. I wasn't mad though, I trusted my parents.

I smiled back. "Don't worry mom, if things get too complicated, I'll just... Go for a walk."

My dad smiled back and clapped me on the bag. "Good man. Be careful, all right son?"

"Don't worry dad, Piper will be there. She'll uhh... she'll keep me out of trouble."

He lifted an eyebrow and grinned. "Piper? The girl you took to prom?"

I blushed, remembering what they gave me before I went to pick her up. "As a friend, but yeah, that Piper."

My parents shared a conspiratorial glance before smirking at me.

"I see how it is." My mom commented.

My face flushed. "Mom! It's not… It's not like that!"

"Sure sure, we believe you son." My dad said, with that infuriating smirk. "But just in case..."

And then he rummaged through his baggage before giving me a box... you guessed it. Condoms. Just... why?

I sighed. "Dad! We're in public right now!"

He just kept on smirking and nudging me with the box. "All the more reason for you to take it!"

I groaned. "You're not gonna let this go until I take it, huh?"

My mom was also smirking when she said, "What do you think?"

I sighed for the millionth time today.

"Uhh... Did I come at a bad time?" A voice said behind me. Oh gods...

I turned around and smiled awkwardly. "Uh.. Hey Piper... What's up?"

Her eyes were as wide as they could be. "Uhm.. Not much.. What uhh, what's up with you?"

I just nodded my head. "Eh, you know the usual."

"So.. The usual is you getting a box of condoms from your dad?" She asked with an eyebrow raised, obviously holding in a smile.

"I..." I started, before sighing, "I really wish I could tell you no.." I admitted.

It was at that moment my parents decided to introduce themselves. Oh gods.

My dad shoved the box of condoms in my hand before turning towards Piper.

He wore the crooked grin I inherited from him and said "Hi! You must be Piper, Percy's been talking about you nonstop! I'm Poseidon, his dad."

I blushed before protesting. "Dad! I do _**not**_ talk about Piper nonstop!"

My mom swatted me fondly before saying "Oh hush now, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's adorable! Hi, I'm Sally, Percy's mom. It's great to finally meet you."

It's true, this was the first time they were meeting one of my friends. Well, except for Nico. They were asleep the night we went back to my place.

Piper was holding in a laugh but smiled all the same. She shook their hands and said "Hey, it's nice to meet you guys! I'd love to hear more about Percy! Anything you guys are willing to tell me would be greatly appreciated."

Oh gods, no. My parents got this glint in their eyes, and I knew then that they had to go. Now.

I cleared my throat loudly, before turning towards my parents. "Uh, mom, dad, isn't it about time for you guys to go? You wouldn't want to miss that cruise, now would you?"

They both sighed. "I guess you have a point." My dad admitted.

"I'll just have to show Piper your baby pictures some other time..." My mom said with a disappointed tone.

I nodded my head profusely. "Yup, yup, wiser words have never been spoken. Bye mom, bye dad."

They grinned. "All right, all right, we know when it's time to go." My dad said.

My mom winked. "Bye Percy. Don't have _too much_ fun on your vacation."

"But if you do, remember to use the contents of the box I gave you." My dad added.

Yup, I think my cheeks were now permanently red.

"Guys! Just... Go. Please?"

And, mercifully, they did. They waved me goodbye and then the taxi left.

I turned around and I saw a smirking Piper.

"Not. A. Word." I told her seriously.

"Whatever you say Fish Breath. Nice to know your parents got you back when it comes to condoms."

My cheeks flushed. "Shut up."

"Apparently you can't seem to shut up about me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Psh, as if. No, my parents live to embarrass me. Trust me, I do **not** talk about you constantly."

She just kept on smirking. "Suure, whatever helps you sleep Aquaboy."

"Shut it Beauty Queen!"

"Make me Fish Breath."

"Am I interrupting?" Leo said with a smirk.

Piper and I blushed.

"Nope, not at all!" I told him. "Right Pipes?"

She nodded her head profusely. "Totally, we were just talking."

Leo lifted an eyebrow. "With a box of condoms?"

And then I remembered the fact that I was currently holding a box of condoms. In public. Thanks mom, dad. Just... Thanks for this.

"I… That's not... I didn't..!" I sputtered out before sighing. "I'm just... I'm just gonna go get my luggage. Piper, please explain what happened."

Piper smirked and said "Gladly. It all started with Percy's dad telling me Percy always talks about..."

I walked away before I had to hear the rest. I did not want to live through all that _again_.

 **Thalia's POV**

"Oh my gods, finally!" I exclaimed the moment we entered the beach house we rented.

"I know! That flight took forever!" Percy exclaimed, and I had to agree. I was **not** a big fan of flying. At all.

"Hey, let's look at the bright side... We're in France!" Leo yelled excitedly.

"Look at that view!" Hazel gasped out.

We all joined her on the porch and damn. That view was amazing. The water in the beach was so... blue. And the sun setting just made it seem like we were in a movie.

Piper smirked. "Ohh, we are gonna have some fun here. Aquaboy, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Percy had a matching smirk on his face and said, "You know it Beauty Queen... Race you to the water?"

"You're on!" She shouted.

And then those two crazy bastards dropped their stuff one the ground and ran towards the water, whooping the whole way.

"Guys! Wait for me!" Leo shouted, joining them.

Frank and Hazel shared a look, before following their lead.

Jason shook his head. "Nuh-uh, I am not going to go into the water with my jeans!"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, there's no way I'm going in there."

Grover smirked. "I never knew you guys were this scared."

Annabeth and Jason narrowed their eyes.

"What? I am **not** scared!" Annabeth protested.

"Prove it." Grover challenged them.

"You're on." Jason shot back.

And then they all raced towards the water.

Nico was smirking at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

No. Nuh-uh.

I shook my head and glared at him. "Don't even think about it Death Breath."

"Oh, come on Pinecone Face! Everyone else is doing it."

"Nope. I am not going in the water fully dressed."

He shrugged, but still had that infuriating smirk and glint in his eyes. "You leave me no choice."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you-"

And then he grabbed me and started running with me in his arms.

"Nico! Let me go!" I commanded him.

But he just laughed and kept on running. "You seem a little bit hot there Thals.. Let me cool you off."

"No, let mo go right no-"

And then it was too late.

We reached the water and he just kept on running, until he got far enough. He smirked at me.

"Don't you dare!" I threatened him, but I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"Too late." He said, and then we both went under.

He let me go after that.

"Best start of a vacation ever." Percy announced gleefully.

"You said it dude." Leo said with a grin.

"Uh guys.. Who's keeping an eye on our stuff?" Frank wondered.

All of our eyes widened.

"Shit!" Jason cursed.

We all got out of the water and ran towards the beach house.

And that's pretty much how we spent our first day in France.

Soaking wet and freezing, but happy none the less.

* * *

 **Yoooo how you guys doing? As promised, the first chapter of their vacation! Not my best work, I'll admit, but I'm aiming to improve. I'm still working out the details of this arc, but I should be able to update every.. Saturday? Yeah, that seems doable. From now on, unless I say otherwise, you should expect a chapter every Friday. I was wondering though, you guys think I should write in everyone's POV? Like, for example, Leo's POV. Cause I've been toying with the idea for a while. Some scenes that I'm planning do not involve Percy or Nico or Annabeth or Thalia. Anyhow, let me know what you thought about this chapter! And if you've got any ideas or requests, I'm all ears ;)**

 **Now, onto your reviews:**

 **To Anna: Haa, well, let's say hypothetically, that Thalico is endgame... You didn't think I'd make it easy for them now did you? Where's the fun in that? XD And yeah, it has come a long way! I dunno, I feel like my writing improved _drastically_ after my uhh my unexpected hiatus. It just boggles my mind whenever I read the first chapters and compare them to the newer chapters... I'm honestly surprised with how short those chapters are... I'll tell you this though, back then I never expected it to be this liked by people. That was a pleasant surprise :)**

 **To NONAME2002: I'd like to think that in a different universe, I definitely would've had the right mind to write your idea haha. As for Khione... That's actually not a bad idea! Never thought of that possibility... Interesting. As for what will happen with Percy and whoever.. Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out ;)**

 **To RoyalFox89: Here you go! Hope you liked it :)**

 **To Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: I'm glad you liked the preview dude, and I hope you like the whole chapter! I'm glad you have someone, everyone should have at least one person with whom(?) they can be honest with!**

 **What made you choose for Radiologist or Emergency Medicine Doctor?**

 **Ohh okay, thanks for explaining! What's it like being a scribe?**

 **At the moment, I'm majoring in Engineering, but I'm planning on switching over to Chemistry next year :)**

 **To BlackThorn47: Haha, I am aren't I? Then again, I guess you of all people would know, you've been reading this story for a while now! Nothing but love for you man ;)**

 **To Whatisaname: Awww, thanks dude! I appreciate the love :D And yeah, finishing this story, that's the plan. I've got several possible endings already, but it really depends on the direction I go. Plus you know, there are a lot of things that could change from here till the ending. But, I guess that's cause I improvise a lot of things so... Yeah XD Percabeth... Noted ;) Hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

 **Yo, I'm adding the answers to the reviewers of chapter 45 here, in case they didn't read the preview ;)**

 **To Pregnantnun227: Thank you! It can be challenging sometimes, coming up with ideas for this story, and remembering important details to avoid continuity errors.. Plus, making sure the characters are in character for the story, but not too OOC either... It is a fine line I find myself crossing too much sometimes. And damn... Noted. Percy and Annabeth... I'm gonna have to be reaaallly careful there... No promises, but I'll uhh... I'll do my best?**

 **To Guest: Thank you! It was hard writing Annabeth... I'm kind of having difficulties writing in other people's POV except for Percy's for some reason, so I'm glad t hear I didn't butcher Annabeth's character! :D And your idea has been noted. Seriously. I probably would not have brainstormed about their vacation until I saw your review. And when I did brainstorm.. Well I was pleasantly surprised with the fact that I did not draw up a blank! So again, thank you for that :)**

 **To Percabeth824: Thank you! :)**

 **To rkimberly90: Yeah, no trust me, PercyxPiper is a big possibility. Like, a really big one. As for Percy and Annabeth, they were a big inspiration for the vacation chapters. At the moment their relationships is.. Rocky. If I don't write these chapters, and skipped ahead to the senior year chapters, then we would've missed the whole Annabeth trying to be friends with Percy again and Percy doing his best to forgive her and all that jazz. I have taken your other suggestions into serious consideration too, so thank you for those! And to be perfectly honest with you... LeoxNico was uhh.. It was never on my mind... I didn't even consider them a possibility...**

 **To ZebraGirl202: I KNOW! I just love writing them together these days! They're just so freaking adorable! And thank you, for reading my story! Appreciate the support! :D**

 **To MasterTrident: No no, trust me they are not friends again. On better terms? Barely, but yeah. I don't want to say Percy forgave Annabeth, per say, but more like, he didn't want to pile on more shit on Annabeth's shitty situation. I had to find some way to get her on this vacation, and that wouldn't have been possible if they weren't on somewhat okay terms. You're right though, it was rushed, but I didn't know how to do it any other way. I needed Annabeth to be in the gang again, because she has to work things out with Percy on this vacation. And, yes two-timing is despicable, no mater the reason. It's disrespectful really.**

 **We have lived in a male-dominant society for a long time, so the friend zoning of guys is what's really put on focus, even though as you have stated, both genders can be and have been friend-zoned. I think that today, with social media and smartphones and the internet, communication has become so easy that we.. We tend to underestimate it. We look for a quick fix solution to problems, and when that's not possible we give up on relationships. Friendships, genuine ones, they're hard work. In a world of instant-gratification, hard work just doesn't seem worth it, which is why it seems to be harder and harder to have genuine friendships. The hyper-sexualisation of everything, even friendships, doesn't help either. And to be honest, I think part of why guy don't communicate properly, is because there's this out-dated idea about how men have to act, that fathers and/or grandfathers teach their sons. Like, for example how real men don't cry or something like that. That affects the child heavily and shapes the kind of guy he will all of those factors, and you have the present day. I am glad though, that the old ideas of manhood are starting to become a thing of the past. It's not perfect, but it's a start. Nice to know I'm not boring you, that's always a worry of mine.**

 **To greasy snivellus: Yooo! Welcome, welcome...Welcome to my story. Firstly, I really am sorry you had to read that heartbreaking chapter with Rachel.. That must've come as a surprise to you. It definitely changed the tone of the story a bit, not gonna lie. Secondly, you'll get used to hating me, all of my other fans have so... Welcome to the club! :D Thirdly, I loved Khione in the books to be honest. Yeah, she was a bitch to have worked with Gaia, but I loved her interactions with Leo. She sucked for being with the bad guys... But come on, Leo and Khione... Priceless! Fourthly, Bob's Burgers is awesome! It never ceases to cheer me up, and Percy definitely needed cheering up. Think about it. (And yes, that was a Linda reference, come at me xD). Fifthly, Nico... has some stuff to figure out. They all do really. And lastly, I wish it was done, we are a long way from being completed dude. I wanna say we're past the halfway mark, but I would be lying. And yes, I am ecstatic that you're reading my story! :D Although I apologise for being the reason you can't sleep :( I wanna say you won't regret reading my story, but uhh... I will frustrate you. I'll make you pissed. Annoyed beyond relief. And hopefully, in the end, glad for the journey that is this story.**

 **Welp, that's all of em. Once again, tell me what you thought of this chapter, or if you have an idea, I'm all ears. A big thank you to all the people that have reviewed this story, are reviewing right now, or are planning to review. It really motivates me to keep writing, not gonna lie. So, thank you and uhhh, have a good life!**

 **I'm out.**

 **Joy**


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